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J F Hall

Publications and source records attributed to J F Hall.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1983

Recall versus recognition: a methodological note.

Some current investigators have made direct comparisons of recognition performance with cued recall. In other instances, indirect comparisons of recognition and recall have been made by observing the difference in recognition performance with different types of target material, for example, high- and low-frequency words; this difference has been then compared with the difference obtained when recall is used to measure retention of the same type of target materials. Finally, some experimenters have examined how recognition performance is related to the type of target material that is used, for example, words, pictures, and so on. The results obtained from all of these studies have been used to make inferences about the nature of the memorial process. We have attempted to call attention to the generally accepted but neglected finding that performance on any recognition test can be manipulated by changing the characteristics of the distractors, thus casting doubt on the generality of the experimental findings as well as their theoretical implications.

Form Perception↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The conditional emotional response as a model of Pavlovian conditioning.

Many investigators have assumed that the conditional emotional response (CER) with its attendant response measure, response suppression, can be used as a model for Pavlovian conditioning; that is, that the experimental results obtained with the CER will yield findings similar to those obtained with the direct conditional stimulus (CS)-conditional response (CR) paradigm, e.g., conditioning of the eyeblink, electrodermal (EDR), finger withdrawal, etc. Several problems, however, have emerged with this assumption. The first is a methodologic-statistical one. Measurement of response suppression using the familiar ratio measure assumes that different base rates of responding should play no role in determining the size of the suppression ratio, and operant responding from one pre-CS period to another will remain stable. These assumptions have been found to be in error. In addition, the statistical assumptions of normally distributed data and homogeneous variances of the experimental and control groups also have been called to question. Some experimenters, however, have taken the position that if CER and direct CS-CR experimental findings are in general agreement when a particular conditioning variable has been manipulated, the methodologic-statistical problems that we have identified can be ignored. The experimental evidence suggests that although such comparisons frequently indicate an identity of findings, there are sufficient exceptions in which caution is urged in assuming that the two paradigms are measuring the same learning correlate.

Arousal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Backward conditioning in Pavlovian type studies. Reevaluation and present status.

Authors of almost all learning texts have indicated that unconditional/stimulus-conditional stimulus (UCS-CS) trials (backward conditioning) utilized in classical conditioning experiments will not result in establishing a conditional response (CR) (excitation). Recently, it has been proposed that backward conditioning can take place although whether UCS-CS trials results in excitation or inhibition has been left unspecified. It is proposed that the diversity of findings can be attributed to inadequate methodology and the use of a classical-instrumental transfer paradigm. When only traditional Pavlovian conditioning studies are examined, the experimental findings suggest that UCS-CS trials will result in inhibition.

Animals↗