Robert J. Tracy

The effects of an attentional training procedure on the performance of high and low test-anxious children

Children, ages 9 through 12, who were either high or low in test anxiety were matched on sex and grade level, then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1)attentional training, (2)placebo training, and (3)notraining control. The attentional training group was rewarded for successful inhibition of irrelevant responses and correct attending behavior on a task similar to the Stroop Color Word Test. The placebo training group experienced the same training task but received rewards that were not contingent on inhibition of the irrelevant responses. For the younger children, posttraining assessement on the Stroop test revealed that attentional training enabled high test-anxious children to perform as well as low test-anxious children, while high test-anxious children in the placebo and control groups continued to make more errors than low test-anxious children. This effect did not occur for the older subjects. A second test measuring central-incidental learning was included to test for generalization effects of training, but this task yielded nonsignificant results.

Reframing and Wisdom within Proverbs

Many proverbs seem to convey wisdom because they help people to reframe lifes predicaments. Positive reframes, such as Every cloud has a silver lining, often draw positive implications from adverse circumstances (cf. “positive reappraisals,” “gain frames”). In contrast, negative reframes, such as All that glitters is not gold, provide helpful warnings about difficult situations, and therefore encourage proactive coping (cf. “problem-focused coping”). This study examined the validity of the distinction between positive and negative reframes and whether the distinction applies to proverbs. Six judges categorized 199 proverbs as positive or negative reframes. Results showed that the positive reframes were rated by college students as more pleasant, conceptually simpler, and more familiar than the negative reframes. Further, proverbs that were composed by students were of higher quality when they were positive rather than negative reframes. On the other hand, positive and negative reframes occurred similarly often among the 199 proverbs, and did not differ consistently in rated truth, rated imagery arousal, or reading grade level. We concluded that many proverbs can be regarded as positive or negative reframes, which constitute basic thinking strategies that help people cope with lifes challenges.

A Comparison of Visual versus Auditory Imagery in Predicting Word Recall

A strong relationship exits between a words capacity to evoke imagery and the words recallability. Researchers have attributed this finding to visual imagery, generally neglecting to study other forms of imagery. This study examined the relationship between word imagery and recallability for both visual and auditory imagery. Introductory psychology students imagined a future trip to a beach and rated the visual imagery or the auditory imagery of various objects. For example, they rated, “How easy is it to see [or hear] the waves?” Subsequently, students free recalled the objects. Results showed that visual imagery and word recallability were positively related. In contrast, auditory imagery and recallability were curvilinearly related; objects rated as easy to hear (audible) or difficult to hear (nonaudible) were recalled better than objects of intermediate audibility. We concluded that when students tried to imagine hearing nonaudible objects, the objects became distinctive and consequently memorable. Further, a curvilinear relationship did not occur for visual imagery because the objects were visible. Other interpretations of mental imagery were also considered.

The Effect of Abstract and Concrete Contexts on the Imageability and Recallability of Words

Word imageability, the degree to which different words arouse imagery, is a powerful variable affecting mental imagery and memory. This study examined whether word imageability varies depending on the context within which words are presented. We randomly sampled abstract (low imageability) words and also concrete (high imageability) words from available norms. Introductory psychology students rated the words for imageability in different contexts. In the mixed content, students rated the abstract and concrete words mixed within the same set of words, similarly to the way words were rated in the norms. Concrete words were rated as more imageable than abstract words, replicating results from the norms. In the unmixed contents, students rated only abstract words or only concrete words. Surprisingly, concrete and abstract words no longer differed in rated imageability. We concluded that word imageability is not due to the mental imagery aroused by a particular word. Rather, a words imageability is profoundly influenced by the imageability of surrounding words. This outcome opposes the typical interpretation that word imageability measures the abstractness-concreteness of the referenced object and also how recallable the word will be.

Approval versus achievement motives in seventh-grade girls

Eighty seventh graders played a computer-programmed two-choice probability game in one of four conditions: with reinforcement for choosing the more probable response, with reinforcement for choosing the less probable response, with a silent experimenter, or alone. Children receiving reinforcement for the less probable response experienced a conflict between approval and achievement since choices which increased approval in this condition decreased success in the task. Across all conditions, girls chose the more probable response significantly more often than boys, indicating that girls did not sacrifice achievement for the sake of approval. Finally, girls did not reduce their efforts to achieve when working alone even though there was no opportunity for social approval, and did not express lower success expectancies than the boys even though these were measured anonymously.

The Effect of Schematic Context on Mental Imagery

A strong relationship exists between a words power to arouse imagery and how memorable the word is. Although researchers have reported this relationship to be linear in nature, it can be U-shaped: Words rated as either easy or difficult in arousing an image can be recalled very well, while words rated as neutral are recalled poorly. A U-shaped function seems to occur when people image words in a schematic context. In this study, college students were asked to suppose that they were at a park (the schematic context) while rating words for the ease with which they aroused images. Students in a control condition also rated the words for ease of image arousal, but they were told nothing about a park or any other schema. In two other similar conditions, students rated words for the ease of arousing memories rather than images. After rating the words students recalled them. Results were generally consistent with the U-shaped function, suggesting schema involvement. That is, words rated as easy were consistent with the schema, which presumably aided their recall. Words rated as difficult were inconsistent with the schema, making them distinctive and memorable. Intermediate words, neither aided by the schema nor distinctive, were poorly recalled. Other results showed that rating words for imagery rather than memory arousal, produced higher ratings and better recall. Perhaps memory ratings constrain the person to consider only past events, while imagery ratings allow additional considerations.

The Effect of Implied Motion on the Recall of Interactive Pictures

The literature has customarily defined interaction between pictured objects in two ways. First, interaction has been defined as simply a conjoined union or physical touching of objects within a given picture scene. The second definition portrays interaction as predetermined action or implied motion between the pictured objects. Researchers typically assume these two modes of defining interaction as essentially equivalent. Generally stated, the purpose of this study was to uncover the effect that implied motion has on the processing of visual information. A factorial design was conducted with dependent variables being imageability, nameability, and recall of pictured objects. Independent variables were implied motion and viewing time. Results showed that implied motion pictures presented at a short viewing time were more nameable and better recalled than stationary pictures presented at a short viewing time. But when subjects were given more time to view visual information, implied motion and stationary pictures were equally nameable and recalled. The results indicate that when visual information is presented for a sufficiently short time, implied motion heightens the availability of a verbal code.

Images Can Be More Powerful Than Memories

There appear to be circumstances under which images are more powerful than memories. Research indicates that people who rate how easily concrete words (e.g., FLOWER) arouse images—rather than memories—give higher ratings and also subsequently show better word recall. The present study extended the above findings by having college students answer a variety of questions rating either images or memories (e.g., “How easily can you image [or remember] a FLOWER?”). The results consistently showed the superiority of imagery over memory ratings, and also that imagery superiority was not due to the self-reference effect, wherein students related information to themselves. Two alternative interpretations were proposed. First, imagery ratings may be special because they enhance processing, perhaps as suggested by the coding redundancy hypothesis. Alternatively, memory ratings may limit processing by contributing more to maintenance than elaborative rehearsal.