Beverly Roskos-Ewoldsen

Mental representations of large and small spatial layouts are orientation dependent

Previous research on spatial memory indicated that memories of small layouts were orientation dependent (orientation specific) but that memories of large layouts were orientation independent (orientation free). Two experiments investigated the relation between layout size and orientation dependency. Participants learned a small or a large 4-point path (Experiment 1) or a large display of objects (Experiment 2) and then made judgments of relative direction from imagined headings that were either the same as or different from the single studied orientation. Judgments were faster and more accurate when the imagined heading was the same as the studied orientation (i.e., aligned) than when the imagined heading differed from the studied orientation (i.e., misaligned). This alignment effect was present for both small and large layouts. These results indicate that location is encoded in an orientation-dependent manner regardless of layout size.

Sex differences in spatial ability: A lateralization of function approach

The current study was designed to examine whether the extent of the male advantage in performance on a spatial task was determined by the extent to which the task was right-hemisphere dependent. Participants included 108 right-handed men and women who completed the mental rotation, waterlevel, and paperfolding tasks, all of which were presented bilaterally. The results partially supported the hypothesis. On the mental rotation task, men showed a right-hemisphere advantage, whereas women showed no hemispheric differences; however, no overall sex differences were observed. On the waterlevel task, men outperformed women, and both men and women showed a right-hemisphere advantage. On the paperfolding task, no sex or hemispheric differences were observed. Although the findings of the current study were mixed, the study provides a framework for examining sex differences across different types of spatial ability.

Unique Challenges in Teaching Undergraduate Statistics.

The statistics instructor faces 4 major challenges unique to this course: motivating students to study material they think is uninteresting, handling math anxiety, dealing with performance extremes, and making the learning memorable. We discuss each challenge along with solutions offered in the literature.

Phonological and Visuo-Spatial Working Memory in Individuals With Intellectual Disability

Differences in the storage and rehearsal components of the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad were investigated in individuals with and without intellectual disability matched on memory span. The group with intellectual disability had specific difficulty in the rehearsal component of the phonological loop, as demonstrated by a weak word length effect compared to the group without intellectual disability. Groups did not differ in the storage component of the phonological loop as indexed by the phonological similarity effect. Also, groups did not differ in the storage or maintenance components of the visuo-spatial sketchpad, having comparable visual similarity and visual complexity effects. However, visual complexity task performance suggested that some aspects of visual processing surpass developmental level expectations for individuals with intellectual disability.

A Test of the Network Models of Political Priming

Extensive media coverage of a political issue has been shown to influence, or prime, the criteria used to judge overall performance of political leaders. This political priming effect is traditionally explained with network models of memory, which identify priming intensity and recency as key factors in determining the strength and endurance of a priming effect. However, these two assumptions of network models have not been directly tested in media studies. The potential of priming valence to influence the priming effect also has had little treatment. This experiment evaluated priming intensity, recency, and valence within a typical political priming context. In support of previous psychological findings, priming effects were apparent immediately following positively valenced primes, dissipating quickly thereafter. For negative primes, the influence of the prime on judgment formation was contingent on the individuals political leaning, in that individuals who would likely agree with the message exhibited priming effects and individuals who would likely disagree with the message exhibited little effect. The adequacy of applying associative memory models to political priming studies is discussed.

Sensory-perceptual qualities of images

Four experiments demonstrated that such sensory-perceptual features of objects as weight, color, and numerosity affect imaginal performance involving images of those objects. For example, imaginary transport times of objects increased with both the hypothetical weight of the imagined object and the distance traversed. The transport functions were steeper when a map of the terrain was imagined than when it was perceived, suggesting that imaginal performance of heft did not parallel more perceptually guided performance. Corresponding to the view that images activate noncanonical information from long-term memory, mental transport times were longer for maps of familiar terrains than for those of presumably unelaborated unfamiliar terrains. Further, the effects of imaginary color discriminations depended on the familiarity of the object being imagined. Images of customarily colored familiar objects were generated faster when projected onto a surface of the same color than when projected onto a surface of another color, whereas images constructed from unfamiliar targets were recognized more accurately when the targets color differed substantially from that of the ground than when it differed by a smaller amount. The results were predicted by a model that assumed that images may incorporate ancillary characteristics in addition to canonical information.

Chapter 7 Discovering Emergent Properties of Images

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a basic model of creativity and discovery, discusses previous research and the anecdotes in terms of the model, and describes two experiments on emergent property recognition within images to elucidate the discovery aspect of the model. Anecdotal evidence of the use of imagery in creativity and discovery is presented in the chapter. The necessary conditions are discussed for imagerys use in creativity and discovery and two experiments investigating the connection between imagery and discovery are described in the chapter.. The chapter concludes by evaluating the existing research in terms of imagerys use in creativity and discovery, and by suggesting future research avenues. The study of individual differences in creativity and discovery demands attention. Sternberg et al. have approached creativity by attempting to identify variables in the environment and the individuals that are associated with creative individuals.

Comprehension of the media

Contents: Preface. J. Monahan, D.R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, Celebrating Social Cognition and Communication. Part I: Message Production. J.O. Greene, A.R. Graves, Cognitive Models of Message Production. C. Berger, Communication: A Goal-Directed, Plan-Guided Process. S.R. Wilson, H. Feng, Interaction Goals and Message Production: Conceptual and Methodological Developments. D. Hample, Arguments. Part II: Interpersonal Communication. D.H. Solomon, J.A. Theiss, Cognitive Foundations of Communication in Close Relationships. V. Manusov, Attributions and Interpersonal Communication: Out of Our Heads and Into Behavior. M.E. Roloff, L.M. Van Swol, Shared Cognition and Communication Within Group Decision-Making and Negotiation. A. Koerner, Social Cognition in Family Communication. P.J. Lannutti, J. Monahan, Social Cognition Under the Influence: Drinking While Communicating. Part III: Mass Media. L.J. Shrum, Social Cognition and Cultivation. M.B. Oliver, S. Ramasubramanian, J. Kim, Media and Racism. W.P. Eveland, Jr., M. Seo, News and Politics. B. Roskos-Ewoldsen, D.R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, M. Yang, M. Lee, Comprehension of Media Stories. Part IV: Social Influence. L. Arpan, N. Rhodes, D.R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, Attitude Accessibility: Theory, Methods, and Future Directions. R. Nabi, Emotion and Persuasion: A Social Cognitive Perspective. J.R. Meyer, Compliance Gaining. M. Hamilton, Dual Process Models of Persuasion.

Visual Imagery Scanning in Young Adults With Intellectual Disability

Fifteen young adults with intellectual disability and 17 college students learned the locations of 5 landmarks on an island map and then scanned from one landmark to another. In the perception condition, the landmarks were visible; in the imagery condition, they were not. The rate of scanning over distance was similar for perception and imagery conditions, but overall scan times were slower in the imagery condition. Participants with intellectual disability required slightly more trials to learn the landmark locations and had generally slower scan times. Both groups were identical in rate of scanning for both perception and imagery conditions. Results suggest that persons with intellectual disability have no particular deficit in image inspection and, perhaps, relatively good imagery capacities.

Coordinating the Psychology Human Research Participant Pool.

In this article, we discuss procedures for coordinating the psychology human participant pool for research purposes. We describe our research retirement and the mechanics of how we recruit participants and report credit for research participation. We also provide an evaluation of the procedures from the viewpoints of experimenters, instructors, and students. Although we identify some problems, the procedures have worked well for us. We discuss areas needing improvement.