記憶課題における学習容易性判断に関する研究

広島大学(Hiroshima University)博士(心理学)Doctor of Philosophy in Psychologydoctora

Examination of Metacognitive Knowledge Used in Ease of Learning Judgment in Memory Tasks

In this study, we investigated metacognitive knowledge used in the ease of learning (EOL) judgments involved in monitoring activity before learning items in memory task. Participants evaluated EOL of stimuli that were selected on the basis of their number of mora, frequency of use, and familiarity. Participants also performed three judgments of the cues used for evaluation of EOL: familiarity judgment, notation familiarity judgment, and concreteness judgment. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis suggested that each feature of items predicted the evaluation value of the EOL judgment. However, adding the evaluation value of the judgment of features in the next step of the analysis decreased the predictive power of the item’s features, while the evaluation value of the judgment strongly predicted the EOL judgment. This result suggests that feature of items are utilized in EOL judgment through metacognitive knowledge about the effect of these features on memory. In addition, comparison of the path coefficients of each judgment revealed a weighting of the use of metacognitive knowledge

Genome-wide search for strabismus susceptibility loci.

The purpose of this study was to search for chromosomal susceptibility loci for comitant strabismus. Genomic DNA was isolated from 10mL blood taken from each member of 30 nuclear families in which 2 or more siblings are affected by either esotropia or exotropia. A genome-wide search was performed with amplification by polymerase chain reaction of 400 markers in microsatellite regions with approximately 10 cM resolution. For each locus, non-parametric affected sib-pair analysis and non-parametric linkage analysis for multiple pedigrees (Genehunter software, http://linkage.rockefeller.edu/soft/) were used to calculate multipoint lod scores and non-parametric linkage (NPL) scores, respectively. In sib-pair analysis, lod scores showed basically flat lines with several peaks of 0.25 on all chromosomes. In non-parametric linkage analysis for multiple pedigrees, NPL scores showed one peak as high as 1.34 on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 15, and 16, while 2 such peaks were found on chromosomes 3, 9, 11, 12, 18, and 20. Non-parametric linkage analysis for multiple pedigrees of 30 families with comitant strabismus suggested a number of chromosomal susceptibility loci. Our ongoing study involving a larger number of families will refine the accuracy of statistical analysis to pinpoint susceptibility loci for comitant strabismus.&#60;/P&#62;</p

Development of the composition strategies use in argumentative writing scale for undergraduate students

This study developed a scale to capture the conscious use of writing strategies that undergraduate students employ when they write argumentative essays. The questionnaire survey was conducted with 202 undergraduate students. The factor analysis of the responses to the questionnaire indicated four factors: Reader Awareness, Consideration of Opposing Views, Flow of Composition, and Expressing One's Position. The content validity of this structure was examined by comparing the score for the strategy between those with high and low subjective frequency for writing essays, as well as groups separated by high and low levels of student expectations of effectiveness and values towards writing essays. Scores for the Flow of Composition strategy were higher among students reporting a high frequency of writing essays. Additionally, scores for the strategies of Reader Awareness, Consideration of Opposing Views and Flow of Composition were higher for students with greater expectations of effectiveness and values toward writing essays. This indicated a degree of content validity for the scale