Richard A. Chechile

A Bayesian procedure for separately estimating storage and retrieval components of forgetting

Abstract A Bayesian procedure was developed to estimate separately the probability of sufficient storage, θs, and the probability of successful retrieval, θτ, on an individual subject basis. The method involves a probabilistic analysis of the subjects performance on a task that randomly intermixes recall with recognition trials. Two experiments using the Brown-Peterson paradigm were performed to demonstrate and validate the estimation procedure. The experiments showed that both θs and θτ decrease as a function of increasing retention interval. The results of both experiments suggest the necessity of a two-factor theory for short-term memory.

Trace susceptibility theory.

A new theory for the dynamics of trace susceptibility to storage loss is developed and tested. According to the trace susceptibility theory, storage loss occurs when a critical feature for the support of recall is no longer bound to the other features of the trace. The storage loss occurs because of the retroactive influence of other traces, and the storage retention function is precisely characterized by an underlying Weibull distribution. Predictions of the trace susceptibility theory were tested against predictions of a multistore model. The results support the trace susceptibility theory. Finally, the relation between the trace susceptibility theory and proactive interference effects was developed.

Mathematical tools for hazard function analysis

Abstract A hazard function is a characterization of the risk of an event occurring at a given point, conditionalized by the fact that the event has not already occurred. A mathematical analysis is the preferred means for learning about the critical features of the hazard function. For both continuous and discrete probability distributions, theorems are provided that enable the critical features of the hazard function to be ascertained. Methods are also described for obtaining the underlying probability distribution from the hazard function. The mixture of stochastic processes, the convolution of random variables, and disjunctive/conjunctive systems are discussed in the context of hazard function analysis.

The interaction of semantic memory with storage and retrieval processes

A procedure for separating storage from retrieval (R. Chechile & D. L. Meyer, Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 1976, 14, 430–437) lead to the conclusion that memory development involves changes in both storage and retrieval. Nevertheless, these changes resulted from the interaction of storage and retrieval mechanisms with the age-related elaboration of the semantic memory system. This study shows that the memory improvement with age, between kindergarten and second grade, vanished when the meaningfulness of the materials were equated. The most plausible interpretation of the results is the hardware invariance hypothesis. According to that hypothesis, the memory apparatus for information processing is constant across ages, but the hardware is used more effectively if there is a better-developed semantic memory system.

Incongruous item generation effects: a multiple-cue perspective.

In a series of studies, generation effects were obtained under encoding conditions designed to induce incongruous, unrelated item generation. Experiments 1 and 2, using free- and cued-recall measures, respectively, provided evidence that this unrelated generation effect was due to response-specific processing. Experiment 3 demonstrated a lack of relation between free recall and indices of clustering. A preliminary protocol study suggested that Ss generate multiple items in their search for appropriate unrelated responses. In Experiments 4 and 5, conditions designed to produce more extensive multiple generations demonstrated enhanced free recall. These results supported a multiple-cue account of facilitated recall for incongruous item generation. The multiple-cue perspective is consistent with traditional conceptualizations of memory, such as the principle of congruity, and contemporary distinctions between cue-target relational and item-specific processing.

“Aha” effects in the generation of pictures

An “aha” effect in memory was first reported by Auble, Franks, and Soraci (1979). They demonstrated that recall was greater for sentences that were initially incomprehensible but which were eventually comprehended, as compared with sentences that were understood from the outset. The present studies extend this “aha” effect to memory for pictorial stimuli. In Experiment 1, a recall advantage for pictures encoded by connecting the dots as compared with those encoded by tracing or visual scanning occurred only in the absence of foreknowledge of the picture (i.e., an “aha” effect). In Experiment 2, we replicated this finding and obtained evidence that conceptually based, verbal foreknowledge does not function in a similar manner as does pictorial foreknowledge in suppressing the “aha” recall advantage. These results place important constraints on previous research on generation effects for visual stimuli and attest to the cross-modal generalizability of the “aha” effect.

Modeling the Cognitive content of displays

An approach for measuring the cognitive complexity of visual displays is discussed and applied to a dynamic display of avionic information. A semantic network formalism is used to model two interrelated knowledge systems, world knowledge and display knowledge. The information the operator receives during training about the general display format characteristics and the task requirements, along with other previously stored information, constitutes world knowledge. The semantic content of a particular configuration of information encountered during task performance constitutes display knowledge. Four orthogonal predictor measures of cognitive complexity were derived from the networks. In an experiment three of the orthogonal predictors were significantly correlated with task performance. After averaging across operators, the three significant predictors accounted for 99% of the variation of display effectiveness. Results indicate that a model of cognitive complexity based on a semantic network formalism may provide a useful technique for quantitatively evaluating the quality of competing display format concepts.

An Experimental Test of a General Class of Utility Models: Evidence for Context Dependency

Generic utility theory, a general axiomatization of utility principles developed by Miyamoto (1988, 1992), is discussed as a formulation that captures a large class of utility theories. Several general mathematical functions were used to specify further the scaling of utility within this class of models. The scaling parameters in the generic utility representation should remain invariant across gambling contexts, and this predicted invariance provided a means for testing the theory. Evidence is presented that the prediction of scaling-parameter invariance is violated. This failure is interpreted as a consequence of employing an absolute reference system for a problem that is context-sensitive.

Memory hazard functions: a vehicle for theory development and test.

A framework is developed to rigorously test an entire class of memory retention functions by examining hazard properties. Evidence is provided that the memory hazard function is not monotonically decreasing. Yet most of the proposals for retention functions, which have emerged from the psychological literature, imply that memory hazard is monotonically decreasing over the entire temporal range. Furthermore, the few remaining proposals, that do not have monotonically decreasing hazard, have difficulty fitting data over both short-term and long-term intervals. A new 2-trace hazard model is developed that successfully circumvents these difficulties. This new model is used to account for the size of memory span and the time course of proactive and retroactive interference effects. The model can fit the retention characteristics of H. M., the famous amnesic patient, as well as normal experimental participants. The model is also used to account for the time course of the misinformation effect.

Generative Processing and False Memories: When There Is No Cost

Encoding manipulations (e.g., levels of processing) that facilitate retention often result in greater numbers of false memories, a pattern referred to as the more is less effect (M. P. Toglia, J. S. Neuschatz, & K. A. Goodwin, 1999). The present experiments explored false memories under generative processing. In Experiments 1-3, using Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) lists with items that were either read or generated, the authors found recognition and recall tests indicated generation effects for true memories but no increases in false memories (i.e., generation at no cost). In Experiment 4, in a departure from the DRM methodology, a cuing procedure resulted in a more is less pattern for congruous generation,and a no cost pattern for incongruous generation. This highlights the critical distinction between these encoding contexts.