Psychological Review

Horowitz, Leonard M.; Prytulak, Luby S.

doi: 10.1037/h0028139pmid: N/A

Proposes the following criterion for calling a memory task redintegrative: In free recall the probability should be high that an S who recalls part of a unit recall the whole unit. 4 tasks that met the criterion and 2 tasks that did not were examined. The redintegrative tasks showed that whatever part of a unit was best remembered in free recall was also the best cue for eliciting the whole unit; it had the greatest redintegrative power. This consistency appeared in memory for single words, phrases, sentences, and 2-digit numbers. Results are related to the issue of associative symmetry and to other matters of verbal behavior. (26 ref.)

Sperry, R. W.

doi: 10.1037/h0028156pmid: 5366411

Challenges the assumption that the subjective phenomena of conscious experiences do not exert any causal influence on the sequence of events in the physical brain process. A theory of mind is suggested in which consciousness, interpreted to be a direct emergent property of cerebral activity, is conceived to be an integral component of the brain process that functions as an essential constituent of the action and exerts a directive holistic form of control over the flow pattern of cerebral excitation.

Kinchla, R. A.; Allan, Lorraine G.

doi: 10.1037/h0028114pmid: 5366412

Develops a mathematical model for visual movement perception and applies it to data from several experiments. Movement perception is treated as a problem of position memory: an O compares the position of an object at 1 point in time with his memory of its position earlier in time. The accuracy of this comparison appears to be limited by noise in his eye positioning system which is cumulative with time. Although involuntary eye movements are suggested as a major component of this noise, other covert components are also considered. A measure of visual movement sensitivity is defined which is independent of the O's response bias. Invariant estimates of this sensitivity parameter are shown to be recovered from a wide variety of perceptual tasks. (27 ref.)

Underwood, Benton J.

doi: 10.1037/h0028143pmid: N/A

Conceptualizes a memory as a collection of attributes which serve to discriminate 1 memory from another and to act as retrieval mechanisms for a target memory. The attributes identified are temporal, spatial, frequency, modality, orthographic and associative nonverbal and verbal. (50 ref.)

Klinger, Eric; McNelly, Frederick W.

doi: 10.1037/h0028288pmid: 5366413

Social status affects fantasy n Ach and performance, and may underlie their joint relationship, shaped and maintained by social control mechanisms, role conflict, and resultant anxiety. Ss high in n Ach perceive themselves as normally and appropriately overcoming challenging odds in achievement situations, and Ss low in n Ach undertaking unchallenging work. Each prefers and strives hardest in task situations consonant with his self-perceptions, and actively avoids role-inappropriate situations and behavior. Evidence supports the generalization that fantasy content reflects most prominently Ss' characteristic, contemporaneous nonfantasy activities, concerns, and social milieu. The role analysis provides a new theoretical framework at its own level of analysis, and suggests modifications of the motivational theory of achievement behavior. (87 ref.)

Jahnke, John C.

doi: 10.1037/h0028148pmid: N/A

Summarizes recent research on the Ranschburg effect, an inhibitory effect on short-term recall observed when a stimulus string contains a repeated element, and attempts to identify the conditions associated with the effect. The theoretical bases for the Ranschburg effect, including a new analysis of the effect are considered and the results of 2 experiments designed as a 1st test of this notion are presented. (31 ref.)

Raynor, Joel O.

doi: 10.1037/h0028291pmid: N/A

Finds the current theory of achievement motivation limited in that it does not distinguish between effects attributable to anticipation of future goals and the immediate consequences of an activity. An elaboration based on a more general expectancy-value theory of motivation is proposed to overcome this limitation. Implications of the new proposals are derived for situations in which achievement-oriented activity is conceived by an individual as the immediate next step in a path to some distant future goal. Supportive empirical evidence and an experimental paradigm for future research are described.