David M. Riefer

Theoretical and empirical review of multinomial process tree modeling.

We review a current and popular class of cognitive models calledmultinomial processing tree (MPT) models. MPT models are simple, substantively motivated statistical models that can be applied to categorical data. They are useful as data-analysis tools for measuring underlying or latent cognitive capacities and as simple models for representing and testing competing psychological theories. We formally describe the cognitive structure and parametric properties of the class of MPT models and provide an inferential statistical analysis for the entire class. Following this, we provide a comprehensive review of over 80 applications of MPT models to a variety of substantive areas in cognitive psychology, including various types of human memory, visual and auditory perception, and logical reasoning. We then address a number of theoretical issues relevant to the creation and evaluation of MPT models, including model development, model validity, discrete-state assumptions, statistical issues, and the relation between MPT models and other mathematical models. In the conclusion, we consider the current role of MPT models in psychological research and possible future directions.

Analogies as an aid to understanding and memory

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of domain distance on the comprehension of and memory for scientific passages. A near and far domain analogy were selected for each of three scientific passages

Response strategies in source monitoring.

This article examines the role that response strategies play in a memory paradigm known as source monitoring. It is argued that several different response biases can interact to confound the interpretation of source-monitoring data. This problem is illustrated with 2 empirical examples, taken from the psychological literature, which examine the role of source monitoring in the generation effect and the picture superiority effect. To resolve this problem, a new multinomial model for source monitoring is presented that is capable of separately measuring memory factors from response-bias factors. The model, when applied to the results of 2 new experiments, results in a clearer picture of which source-monitoring variables are instrumental in the generation effect and picture superiority effect

Cognitive psychometrics: assessing storage and retrieval deficits in special populations with multinomial processing tree models.

This article demonstrates how multinomial processing tree models can be used as assessment tools to measure cognitive deficits in clinical populations. This is illustrated with a model developed by W. H. Batchelder and D. M. Riefer (1980) that separately measures storage and retrieval processes in memory. The validity of the model is tested in 2 experiments, which show that presentation rate affects the storage of items (Experiment 1) and part-list cuing hurts item retrieval (Experiment 2). Experiments 3 and 4 examine 2 clinical populations: schizophrenics and alcoholics with organic brain damage. The model reveals that each group exhibits deficits in storage and retrieval, with the retrieval deficits being stronger and occurring more consistently over trials. Also, the alcoholics with organic brain damage show no improvement in retrieval over trials, although their storage improves at the same rate as a control group.

A multinomial modeling analysis of the mnemonic benefits of bizarre imagery

A series of experiments was conducted to explore the cognitive processes that mediate the bizarreness effect, that is, the finding that bizarre or unusual imagery is recalled better than common imagery. In all experiments, subjects were presented with noun pairs that were embedded within bizarre or common sentences ina mixed-list design. None of the experiments produced a bizarrenesB effect for cued recall; however, for two of the experiments, the bizarre noun pairs were remembered significantly better than the common pairs for free recall. To determine if these differences were due to the storage or retrieval of the items, a multinomial model for the analyis of imagery mediation in paired-associate learning was developed and applied to the data from the experiments. The model revealed that bizarre sentences benefited the retrieval of the noun pairs but not their storage within memory. The empirical and modeling results are discussed relative to previous findings and theories on thebizarreness effect.

A multinomial modeling analysis of the recognition-failure paradigm.

The recognition-failure paradigm has received much theoretical consideration, especially the Tulving-Wiseman function and its exceptions. We show that the Tulving-Wiseman function does a poor job of accounting for the data, both when its fit is measured with a model-based, goodness-of-fit statistic and when a logically equivalent reformulation of the function is compared with data. We then present a simple multinomial model based on retrieval-independence theory that is capable of measuring storage and retrieval processes in recognition failure. The model is used to conduct a meta-analysis of the recognition-failure paradigm, and shows that violations of the Tulving-Wiseman function occur under conditions in which weak storage is coupled with strong retrieval. In addition, if storage and retrieval are assumed to be positively correlated across conditions, the model produces a theoretically motivated, alternative equation to the Tulving-Wiseman function that provides a virtually identical fit to the data.

Positive and negative generation effects in source monitoring.

Research is mixed as to whether self-generation improves memory for the source of information. We propose the hypothesis that positive generation effects (better source memory for self-generated information) occur in reality-monitoring paradigms, while negative generation effects (better source memory for externally presented information) tend to occur in external source-monitoring paradigms. This hypothesis was tested in an experiment in which participants read or generated words, followed by a memory test for the source of each word (read or generated) and the words colour. Meiser and Bröders (2002) multinomial model for crossed source dimensions was used to analyse the data, showing that source memory for generation (reality monitoring) was superior for the generated words, while source memory for word colour (external source monitoring) was superior for the read words. The model also revealed the influence of strong response biases in the data, demonstrating the usefulness of formal modelling when examining generation effects in source monitoring.

Memory for common and bizarre stimuli: A storage-retrieval analysis

We tested the hypothesis that common stimuli are stored in memory better than bizarre stimuli are. Subjects memorized a series of noun pairs embedded within 20 common or bizarre sentences. By using a between-list design, free and cued recall, and intentional-learning instructions, we were able to obtain a commonness effect (i.e., a recall advantage for the common sentences). Riefer and Rouder’s (1992) multinomial processing-tree model for measuring storage and retrieval was applied to the data, which revealed that the recall advantage for common sentences was due to storage and not retrieval processes. We propose a two-factor theory: that common items are stored better in memory, but that bizarre items are retrieved better from memory. This storage-retrieval explanation does a good job of accounting for a number of findings associated with the bizarreness effect.

NAME THAT TUNE: ELICITING THE TIP-OF-THE-TONGUE EXPERIENCE USING AUDITORY STIMULI

An experiment was conducted to assess whether auditory stimuli could elicit the tip-of-the-tongue state. Subjects were presented segments of 50 television theme songs and asked to indicate the tide of the corresponding show. Twenty-one percent of ail retrieval attempts resulted in an experience of the tip-of-the-tongue state, with women reporting more such experiences than men. The majority of these experiences contained partial information about the target such as the shows characters, actors, or outline. Subjects in the tip-of-the-tongue state were also able to identify the genre and era of the target show with high accuracy and pick it out amongst distractors in a recognition test. Competing responses were relatively infrequent and were usually semantically related to the target show. The similarities and differences between auditory-induced tip-of-the-tongue states and those for other stimuli are discussed.

BEHAVIOR ENGINEERING PROPOSALS: 5. AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF TEAM VERSUS SOLO PROOFREADING

An experiment is reported that tested the effectiveness of a common proofreading strategy known as team proofreading. Subjects in 32 pairs proofread a series of passages containing misspellings; one subject read out loud to a partner who followed along silently, both looking for errors. In a control condition both subjects read passages but did so separately Analysis showed that two proofreaders working on the same passage detected significantly more errors than one proofreader working alone. However, team proofreading itself was not shown to be effective for detecting misspellings, because two readers detected just as many total errors when they read separately as they did working as a team. In addition, reading out loud was not shown to be a beneficial element of team proofreading. The results suggest that having multiple proofreaders is a beneficial strategy for detecting misspellings, bur that it is not necessary for readers to work interactively as a team to accomplish this.