Biomedical subjects

Sal A Soraci

Publications and source records attributed to Sal A Soraci.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The aha effect in groups and other dynamic learning contexts.

The aha effect is a memory advantage for initially ambiguous stimuli (e.g., "The notes were sour because the seam split.") that are subsequently resolved ("Bagpipe") over stimuli that are comprehensible from the outset (see P M. Auble, J. J. Franks, & S. A. Soraci, 1979; T. W. Wills, S. A. Soraci, R. A. Chechile, & H. A. Taylor, 2000). The authors examined the influence of learning context on the aha effect by manipulating whether generative tasks were completed in a group setting or alone. In Experiment 1, participants in a group context either discussed difficult aha sentences, or overheard the discussion. In Experiments 2 and 3, lone participants were exposed to the sentences, and either spoke their thoughts aloud or thought silently. Participants in a group context did, as predicted, exhibit the aha global deletion of quotation marks effect. Moreover, in all experiments an aha effect was found for the active, speaking condition only. The authors discuss implications for generative learning and collaborative discourse processes.

Comprehension↗

PubMed2005

Generative learning during visual search for scene changes: enhancing free recall of individuals with and without mental retardation.

Memory for scene changes that were identified immediately (passive encoding) or following systematic and effortful search (generative encoding) was compared across groups differing in age and intelligence. In the context of flicker methodology, generative search for the changing object involved selection and rejection of multiple potential solutions prior to identification of the correct object. Such "incorrect guesses" were designed to serve as effective retrieval cues during free recall. All groups recalled more changes from the generative-encoding than from the passive-encoding condition. Results demonstrate the efficacy of generative encoding contexts for enhancing free recall in individuals with and without mental retardation and the promise of such methodologies for computerized learning environments.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The self-choice effect from a multiple-cue perspective.

The self-choice effect refers to the fact that self-chosen items are remembered better than experimenter-assigned items (Takahashi, 1991). The present study investigated the hypothesis that (a) response choice involves relational processing as activation of both target and context items, and (b) such activated context items are effective as potential retrieval cues for recall of target items. In the experiment, participants chose (choice condition) or were assigned (force condition) a target to remember for each trial. Prior to free recall of the target items, context words, related new words, or unrelated words were presented in a recognition task as potential retrieval cues. The results of a subsequent free recall test indicated that the incidental cues were more effective in the choice condition than in the force condition. Also, recognition resulted in a greater rate of successfully recognized context words at the cost of increasing falsely recognized related new words in the choice condition in comparison with the force condition. These results indicated that response choice activates context items at encoding, which operate as potential retrieval cues for recall of target items. Such cuing mechanisms operative in the self-choice effect are consistent with the multiple-cue theory proposed by Soraci et al. (1994; see also Soraci et al., 1999) for generative processing.

Choice Behavior↗

PubMed2003

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.

Factor Analysis, Statistical↗

PubMed2003

Detection of changes in naturalistic scenes: comparisons of individuals with and without mental retardation.

Abilities of individuals with and without mental retardation to search for and detect salient changes to naturalistic scenes were investigated using the flicker paradigm. Located in areas of central or marginal interest, changes involved an object's color, shape, or presence. Individuals with mental retardation required more time to detect changes of all types, and the magnitude of the group difference was more pronounced for marginal-interest changes. Supplemental eye-tracking data from 6 participants suggested that the basis of this effect was that individuals with mental retardation tended to maintain gaze in the region of central interest for longer periods of time prior to sampling the other areas of the scene. Implications for intelligence-related differences in visual attention are discussed.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Guided visual search in individuals with mental retardation.

The ability of individuals with mental retardation to focus on task-relevant elements of complex visual arrays and increase visual-search efficiency was investigated. Initial assessments of visual-search efficiency were conducted to identify pairs of features for the form and size dimensions for which each participant demonstrated serial search. Subsequently, color was added as a defining feature that could guide search to a subset of the elements in the array. Results indicated that all of the individuals with mental retardation were able to limit attention to the task-relevant items on the guided search task, thus greatly reducing overall target identification times. Results show that individuals with mental retardation can demonstrate sophisticated visual selective attention skills when visual arrays are structured appropriately.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Guiding visual attention during acquisition of matching-to-sample.

Matching-to-sample skills are involved in language acquisition and the development of basic reading and counting abilities. The rapid, even errorless, induction of matching performances in young children and individuals with mental retardation was demonstrated here through the structuring of a visual array so as to promote detection of the relevant stimulus. Implications for theory and application are discussed.

Adolescent↗