Cesare Cornoldi

Visuo-spatial working memory: Structures and variables affecting a capacity measure

The present paper examines the issue of the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory. A series of experiments test the hypothesis that two different components are critical in visuo-spatial working memory (passive store and active imagery operations), and, thereafter, attempt to specify the variables that affect the capacity of the passive store component. In the experiments, congenitally blind and sighted participants were asked to remember the spatial positions of target objects in two-dimensional matrices, with or without simultaneously performing a sequence of spatially-based imagery operations. We considered both the positions recall performance (the passive storage component) and the sequential imagery processing performance (the active processing component). We suggest that the two components of visuo-spatial working memory are independent. We also propose that both the number of relevant matrices and the number of target objects within each matrix affect the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory, with the latter factor possibly playing a greater role than the former one.

Strategic coherence andacademic achievement

Unsuccessful students stand out in many ways, one of which is their lower efficacy in study methods. In the present research we hypothesized that low academic achievement is accompanied by a low ‘strategic coherence’, i.e. by a poor capacity to use the strategies which are considered the most effective to study a text. Study 1 found that low achievement under-graduates have lower strategic coherence than high achievers. Study 2 demonstrated that the less coherent students have a poor study method and low scholastic performance. The paper concludes with a discussion on the importance of strategic coherence for an effective studying.

HOW CAN A STUDENT’S DEPRESSIVE ATTITUDE INTERFERE WITH THE USE OF GOOD SELF-REGULATION SKILLS?

Self-regulation skills, such as organisation, self-evaluation, personal elaboration, metacognitive attitude and strategic awareness are very important predictors of academic achievement. However, research has not studied in depth the factors that facilitate the use of good self-regulatory skills. The present research was intended to study the role of some factors that could affect these self-regulation skills, in particular depressive attitude and motivational beliefs. A group of 246 adolescents, aged between 14 and 18, were administered self-report questionnaires devised to test aspects underlying self-regulation. A preliminary factor analysis confirmed the centrality of the three-hypothesised aspects: motivational beliefs, depressive attitude, and self-regulation-skills. A path analysis revealed that there are important links between motivational beliefs and self-regulation and between depressive attitude and motivational beliefs. Some educational implications are discussed.

Riattivare la memoria nell'invecchiamento : l'intervento strategico-metacognitivo = Re-activating Memory in Late Adulthood : A Strategic Metacognitive Intervention

Riattivare la memoria nellinvecchiamento: lintervento strategico-metacognitivo A metacognitive strategy training was developed for old adults to improve their cognitive performance. 133 old adults participated at 9 training sessions. Results showed the efficacy of this type of intervention in improving cognitive performance and metacognitive attitudes in older adults. Moreover, a significant increase from post-test performance to a follow-up, conducted after six months, was found in memory performance. Taken together these findings highlight the importance of a training program that integrates teaching the use of mnemonic strategies with metacognitive principles to improve old adults’ memory ability.