Lyle E. Bourne

On the cognitive structure of basic arithmetic skills: Operation, order, and symbol transfer effects.

In 2 experiments, college Ss practiced extensively on single-digit multiplication and division problems (e.g., = 6 × 9; 42 = × 6) and were tested on both practice problems and several altered versions of those problems, which were constructed by changing the required operation, operand order, or arithmetic symbol. There was strong positive transfer to test problems that had exactly the same elements (the numbers and the required operation) as a practice problem, regardless of whether other factors such as operand order or symbol were changed, but little if any positive transfer to test problems that did not have the same elements as a practice problem. An identical elements framework is used to interpret these results and implications for existing computational models of arithmetic fact retrieval and for the development of arithmetic skill are discussed

Some tests of an identical elements model of basic arithmetic skills.

: Two experiments tested an identical elements model of the organization of basic arithmetic skills (T. C. Rickard, A. F. Healy, & L. E. Bourne, 1994). This model assumes a distinct abstract representation for each unique combination of the basic elements (i.e., the operands and the required operation) of a problem. Participants practiced multiplication and division problems and were then tested on various altered versions of these problems. Experiment 1 confirmed the prediction of no positive transfer when the presented elements of a test problem do not exactly match those of a practice problem. Experiment 2 confirmed the prediction that there is complete transfer when the elements of the test problem match exactly with those of a practice problem. Experiment 2 also confirmed that there is both perceptually specific and nonspecific speed-up with practice. Implications for number processing and arithmetic are discussed.

Long-term repetition effects for motoric and perceptual procedures

Two experiments examined the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of memory for information encoded in a motoric task, called data entry. In both experiments, subjects entered lists of digit sequences with a computer keypad. They were retested on the same task after a delay of up to 1 month. At retention, implicit memory for the digit lists was evidenced by faster entry of old relative to new lists in both experiments. In Experiment 1, subjects were able to discriminate old from new lists. Recognition memory of old lists was better after than before entering the lists. In Experiment 2, perceptual and motoric contributions to the old/new difference in typing speed were isolated by means of a transfer paradigm. The results showed that the entry-speed advantage for the old lists was due to the separate reinstatement at the retention test of both perceptual and motoric procedures encoded earlier. Implicit and explicit measures of memory were found to be dependent rather than independent. The findings from this study are interpreted within a framework of memory based on procedural reinstatement.

Learning and memory of knowledge and skills : durability and specificity

Preface - Alice F Healy and Lyle E Bourne Jr Durability and Specificity of Facts and Skill Optimizing the Long-Term Retention of Skills - Alice F Healy et al The Long-Term Retention of a Complex Skill - William R Marmie and Alice F Healy Part-Whole Training of Tank Gunner Simulation Exercises The Contribution of Procedural Reinstatement to Implicit and Explicit Memory Effects in a Motor Task - David W Fendrich et al The Effects of Contextual Interference on the Acquisition and Retention of Logical Rules - Vivian I Schneider et al A Generation Advantage for Multiplication Skill Training and Nonword Vocabulary Acquisition - Danielle S McNamara and Alice F Healy A Long-Term Retention Advantage for Spatial Information Learned Naturally and in the Laboratory - William T Wittman and Alice F Healy Long-Term Performance in Autobiographical Event Dating - John J Skowronski et al Patterns of Accuracy and Error Across a Two-and-a-Half Year Time Span Training and Retention of the Classic Stroop Task - Deborah M Clawson et al Specificity of Practice Effects An Identical Elements Model of Basic Arithmetic Skills - Timothy C Rickard and Lyle E Bourne Jr Acquisition and Retention of Skilled Letter Detection - Janet D Proctor and Alice F Healy Acquisition and Transfer of Response-Selection Skill - Robert W Proctor and Addie Dutta The Specificity and Durability of Rajans Memory - Rodney J Vogl and Charles P Thompson

Specificity effects in training and transfer of speeded responses.

In 3 experiments, participants, on signal, moved a cursor from a central position to 1 of 8 numerically labeled locations on the circumference of a clock face. Movements were controlled by a mouse in 1 of 4 conditions: vertical reversal, horizontal reversal, combined reversals, or normal (i.e., no reversals). Participants were trained in 1, 2, or 3 of these conditions and were tested 1 week later with either the same or a different condition. There were improvements across training and perfect retention across the delay. There was little or no transfer, however, even when training involved combined reversals or multiple conditions. These results illustrate severe specificity of training and are interpreted in terms of acquired inhibition of normal responses.

A Mental Practice Superiority Effect : Less Retroactive Interference and More Transfer Than Physical Practice

Two experiments explored the benefits to retention and transfer conferred by mental practice. During familiarization, participants typed 4-digit numbers and took an immediate typing test on both old and new numbers. Participants then typed old 4-digit numbers, either physically or mentally, with either a different response configuration or the opposite hand from that used during familiarization. On a delayed test, participants physically typed both old and new numbers with the same response configuration and hand used during familiarization. Mental practice led to less retroactive interference and more transfer than did physical practice, supporting the hypothesis that mental practice strengthens an abstract representation that does not involve specific effectors.

Remembering the levels of information in words

The qualitative nature of the incidental memory trace produced by perceptual and conceptual processing within a speeded inference task was examined. Performance on recall and auditory recognition tests replicated the general finding that semantic processing leads to better retention of words than does nonsemantic processing. This pattern of results was reversed on a visual recognition test designed to measure the amount of perceptual information remembered. These data suggest that different types of processing result in different aspects of the stimulus being encoded, with conceptual processing resulting primarily in the encoding of semantic information and perceptual processing resulting primarily in the encoding of physical information. Thus, the effectiveness of a particular kind of processing for good memory performance depends on the kind of information being tested.

Pushing the limits of imagination: Mental practice for learning sequences.

In 2 experiments, the efficacy of motor imagery for learning to type number sequences was examined. Adults practiced typing 4-digit numbers. Then, during subsequent training, they either typed in the same or a different location, imagined typing, merely looked at each number, or performed an irrelevant task. Repetition priming (faster responses for old relative to new numbers) was observed on an immediate test and after a 3-month delay for participants who imagined typing. Improvement across the delay in typing old and new numbers was found for the imagined and actual typing conditions but not for the other conditions. The findings suggest that imagery can be used to acquire and retain representations of sequences and to improve general typing skill.

Learning to think by learning LOGO: Rule learning in third-grade computer programmers

Gains in logical thinking are assumed to result from learning computer programming. Although such assumptions are commonly held, there is little empirical work on cognitive changes resulting from computer programming. The present study reports results of 15 third-grade students at a private school in Dallas who learned LOGO during the school year. One-third of the students were given 1 h/week of individual computer time (separate from in-class instruction), and the remaining students received.5 h/week of individual computer time. At the end of the school year, the 1-h group did significantly better than the.5-h group on a conditional rule-learning task. Future research should compare gains from structured languages like LOGO with those of unstructured languages and should use additional assessment techniques.

Surface form and the spacing effect

Deficient processing theories of the spacing effect attribute poor recall of massed-repeated items to a failure to process one or both of the presentations fully. An implication of this approach is that anything that increases the probability that a repetition will receive full processing, or conversely, anything that decreases the probability that the item will be recognized as a repetition, should improve memorability of the item. The present set of experiments tested this prediction by manipulating the surface structure of repeated sentences. On the basis of previous research, it was assumed that memory for surface structure of sentences decays rapidly, and hence can contribute to initial identification of repetitions only at short spacings. Because this manipulation should hinder recognition of repetitions as repetitions, it was expected to induce full processing of massed repetitions, and thus facilitate recall of these items. This prediction was supported. When sentences were repeated verbatim (Experiment 1) or by the same speaker (Experiment 2), the typical spacing effect was obtained. However, when the surface structure or speaker changed at time of repetition, massed repetitions were recalled nearly as well (Experiment 1) or as well (Experiment 2) as their spaced counterparts.