Can false memories be created through nonconscious processes?

Presentation times of study words presented in the Deese/Roediger and McDermott (DRM) paradigm varied from 20 ms to 2000 ms per word in an attempt to replicate the false memory effect following extremely short presentations reported by J.G. Seamon, C.R. Luo and D.A. Gallo (1998). Both in a within-subjects design (Experiment 1) and in a between-subjects design (Experiment 2) subjects showed memory for studied words as well as a false memory effect for related critical lures in the 2000-ms condition. However, in the

Evaluating the evidence for nonconscious processes in producing false memories:Reply to Gallo and Seamon

In response to the failure of Zeelenberg, Plomp, and Raaijmakers (2003) to replicate the results of Seamon, Luo, and Gallo (1998) regarding their purported finding of a reliable false memory effect in the absence of memory for the list items, Gallo and Seamon (2004) report a new experiment that they claim shows that conscious activation of a related lure during study is not necessary for its subsequent recognition. We critically evaluate their conclusion and argue that the evidence clearly shows that false recognition is critically dependent on the conscious recollection of one or more of the list items. Thus, this as well as the previous experiments show no evidence for nonconscious processes in producing false memories

REMI and ROUSE: Quantitative Models for Long-Term and Short-Term Priming in Perceptual Identification

The REM model originally developed for recognition memory (Shiffrin & Steyvers, 1997) has recently been extended to implicit memory phenomena observed during threshold identification of words. We discuss two REM models based on Bayesian principles: a model for long-term priming (REMI; Schooler, Shiffrin, & Raaijmakers, 1999), and a model for short-term priming (ROUSE; Huber, Shiffrin, Lyle, & Ruys, in press). Although the identification tasks are the same, the basis for priming differs in the two models. In both paradigms we ask whether prior study merely reflects a bias to interpret ambiguous information in a certain manner, or instead leads to more efficient encoding. The observation of a ‘both-primed benefit’ in two-alternative forced-choice paradigms appears to show that both processes are present. However, the REMI model illustrates that the both-primed benefit is not necessarily indicative of an increase in perceptual sensitivity but might be generated by a criterion bias. The ROUSE model demonstrates how the amount of attention paid to the prime, and the consequent effect upon decision making, may lead to the reversal of the normal short-term priming effect that is observed in certain conditions

Does pizza prime coin? Perceptual priming in lexical decision and pronunciation.

In 6 experiments the authors investigated priming for perceptually related word pairs (i.e., words that refer to objects with the same shape such as pizza-coin), trying to replicate earlier findings by R. Schreuder et al (see record 1985-06198-001) while avoiding some of the methodological problems that were present in that study. University students participated in the experiments. Under standard conditions no perceptual priming was obtained. However, in all experiments priming for associated pairs was found. Only after activation tasks that focused on perceptual features was priming for perceptually related word pairs found in pronunciation. Perceptual priming was also obtained in lexical decision after activation tasks, but only when strong associates were not presented in the experiment. The results show that priming for perceptually related word pairs is not a general finding

The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

Toezicht door private partijen: panacee voor alle kwalen?

Naast het traditionele verticale toezicht van de overheid op het bedrijfsleven hebben zich de afgelopen jaren steeds meer vormen van horizontaal toezicht ontwikkeld. Deze kenmerken zich door onderlinge samenwerking en vertrouwen tussen publieke en private partijen. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn onder meer compliance assistance, certificering en systeemtoezicht. De overheid (publieke toezichthouder) treedt in al die varianten terug en maakt plaats voor private toezichthouders die namens producenten, consumenten of andere belangengroepen optreden. Deze ontwikkelingen vormden de aanleiding voor het organiseren van een symposium over toezicht door private partijen op 26 maart 2009. Wetenschappers en practitioners stonden stil bij een tweetal vragen. In de eerste plaats de vraag op welke wijze deze nieuwe vormen van toezicht in de praktijk worden uitgeoefend en, ten tweede, in hoeverre kan het toezicht aan private partijen worden toevertrouwd? Zeker nu het maatschappelijk vertrouwen in het zelfregulerend vermogen van ondernemingen door de kredietcrisis ernstig is geschaad. Deze bundel bevat het verslag van het symposium in de vorm van de bijdragen van de sprekers en een algemene inleiding. Het toezicht in twee sectoren is onder de loep genomen: toezicht op financiële markten en op de naleving van milieuvoorschriften