Psychological Research最新文献

The imagination effect occurs when participants learn better from imagining procedures or concepts rather than from studying them. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of imagination and level of expertise on memorization of a tactical basketball system. Thirty-six expert and thirty-six novice learners were asked to imagine the functioning of a tactical scene in basketball (imagination condition) or simply study the scene (study condition). Results showed that novice learners benefited more from the study condition as they achieved better recall and recognition performances, invested less cognitive load (i.e., mental effort and perceived difficulty) and had higher levels of motivational aspects (i.e., self-efficacy and perceived competence). However, this effect was totally reversed for expert learners who, benefited more from the imagination condition, indicating therefore an expertise reversal effect. The results suggest that the effectiveness of the imagination technique depends on level of expertise of the learners.

The current study examined how mood affects the impact of false feedback on belief and recollection. In a three-session experiment, participants first watched 40 neutral mini videos, which were accompanied by music to induce either a positive or negative mood, or no music. Following a recognition test, they received false feedback to reduce belief in the occurrence of the events displayed in some of the videos (Session 2). This was followed by an immediate memory test and a delayed memory assessment one week later (Session 3). The results revealed that participants in negative mood reported higher belief scores compared to those in positive moods, despite an overall decline in belief scores for all groups following the false feedback. Notably, individuals in negative moods exhibited less reduction in their belief scores after encountering challenges, thereby maintaining a higher accuracy in their testimonies. Over time, a reduction in the clarity of participants’ memory recall was observed, which correspondingly reduced their testimony accuracy. This study thus indicates that mood states play a role in shaping belief and memory recall under the influence of false feedback.

Previous studies have shown that, in samples of non-Western observers, susceptibility to the Ebbinghaus illusion is stronger in urban than rural dwellers. While such relationship between illusion strength and urbanicity has often been ascribed to external factors (such as the visual impact of the environment), the present study explored the possibility that it is instead mediated by general cognitive ability, an internal factor. We recruited a sample of remote Namibians who varied in their level of urbanicity, and measured their susceptibility to the Ebbinghaus illusion, their levels of education and literacy, and their general cognitive ability. The results showed that urbanicity was related to Ebbinghaus susceptibility, and that general cognitive ability, literacy and education did not mediate this effect, which is reassuring with regard to the findings of previous studies that did not control for these variables. However, we found robust relationships between urbanicity, on the one hand, and cognitive ability, education and literacy, on the other, which advocates for careful consideration of the impact of the latter variables in studies about the cognitive effects of urban environments.

Research has reliably demonstrated that an external focus of attention during skill production enhances performance, retention, and transfer relative to an internal focus on movement mechanics. The optimisation of external focus points, across a range of contexts and performers, is important for effective skill production. Two studies were conducted evaluating the impact of external focus distance in an applied, continuous sports skill (kayak sprinting) with participants of two different expertise levels. In Study 1, using a within-participants design, recreational kayakers (n = 20) were timed sprinting 75 m in a surf ski under proximal external focus, distal external focus, and control conditions. The distal focus (on the finish) (29.75 s) was significantly faster than both other trials (ps < 0.001). The control condition (30.95 s) was significantly faster than the proximal focus (on the boat) (32.37 s) (p = 0.003). The effect size was large (η_p² = 0.55). In Study 2, specifically trained racers in sprint kayaks (K1s) (n = 16) were timed in a 100 m K1 sprint under the same three conditions as in Study 1. The control condition (28.96 s) was significantly faster than the proximal focus trial (29.83 s) (p = 0.02). The effect size was large (η_p² = 0.23). There was no significant difference between the distal focus trial (29.03 s) and the other conditions. These findings suggest that focus distance can play a pivotal role in continuous skills. Whilst recreational performers may benefit immediately from a distal focus, this might not be the case for specifically trained athletes. Further, a proximal focus on fitted, passive equipment may be detrimental to performance.

The Autobiographical Interview, a method for evaluating detailed memory of real-world events, reliably detects differences in episodic specificity at retrieval between young and older adults in the laboratory. Whether this age-associated reduction in episodic specificity for autobiographical event retrieval is present outside of the laboratory remains poorly understood. We used a videoconference format to administer the Autobiographical Interview to cognitively unimpaired older adults (N = 49, M = 69.5, SD = 5.94) and young adults (N = 54, M = 22.5, SD = 4.19) who were in their homes at the time of retrieval. Relative to young adults, older adults showed reduced episodic specificity in their home environment, as reflected by fewer episodic or “internal” details (t (101) = 3.23, p = 0.009) and more “external” details (i.e., semantic, language-based details) (t (101) = 3.60, p = 0.003). These findings, along with detail subtype profiles in the narratives, bolster the ecological validity of the Autobiographical Interview and add promise to the use of virtual cognitive testing to improve the accessibility, participant diversity, scalability, and ecological validity of memory research.

Decorative pictures (DP) are often used in multimedia task materials and are commonly considered so-called seductive details as they are commonly not task-relevant. Typically, DP result in mixed effects on behavioral performance measures. The current study focused on the effects of DP on the cognitive load during text reading and working memory task performance. The theta and alpha frequency band power of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and pupil dilation served as proxies of cognitive load. The number of fixations, mean fixation durations, and the number of transitions served as proxies of the attentional focus. For both, text reading and n-back working memory tasks, the presence and congruency of DP were manipulated in four task conditions. DP did neither affect behavioral performance nor subjective ratings of emotional–motivational factors. However, in both tasks, DP increased the cognitive load as revealed by the EEG alpha frequency band power and (at least to some extent) by subjective effort ratings. Notably, the EEG alpha frequency band power was a quite reliable and sensitive proxy of cognitive load. Analyzing the EEG data stimulus-locked and fixation-related, the EEG alpha frequency band power revealed a difference in global and local cognitive load. In sum, the current study underlines the feasibility and use of EEG for multimedia research, especially when combined with eye-tracking.

Our commentary expands the multisensory and modulating factors proposed by Kruger et al.’s (2023) internal models of action imagery and sensory crossovers. We will discuss the essence of imagery experiences as conceptual intersections among sensory, movement and affective properties that require further neuro-anatomical-contextual mapping to better understand the practical application of imagery. Accordingly, we will propose alternative ideas of daisy-chaining and motor imagery systems. The role of imagery speed, and other properties of movement for refining movement and self-regulation will be considered along with sex as a modulating factor in intra-individual abilities to image movement.

Attention can be captured by the presence of distractors that match the current content of working memory in the visual field. This memory-driven capture is well established when observers adopt diffused attentional settings prior to the onset of memory-matching distractors. However, it remains unclear whether memory-driven capture can occur when observers are in a state of focused attention. The present study attempted to address this question by examining whether memory-matching distractors can disrupt performance on a focused attention task. Participants were asked to hold a sample word in working memory and then had to name a central color while ignoring an irrelevant distractor word in the visual display. In Experiments 1 and 2, the distractor word was always presented centrally within the focus of attention. In Experiment 3, the distractor word could be presented either at the center or at the periphery (i.e., outside the focus of attention). The results showed that the irrelevant distractor word within the focus of attention interfered with color-naming performance when it matched the sample word held in working memory. However, no interference effect was observed when the distractor word was presented outside the attentional focus. The present findings indicate that working memory-driven capture during a state of focused visual attention depends crucially on whether or not memory-matching distractors are positioned within the focus of attention.

Abstract

Collaborative memory research has focused primarily on the effects of collaboration at recall with collaboration during encoding receiving less attention. In the present study, collaboration was investigated both at encoding and at retrieval to determine its effects and possible interactions. The aim was to clarify whether the collaborative inhibition effect depended on whether the encoding was with the same or with a different partner. A total of 320 participants (160 Italian and 160 Spanish undergraduate students) were administered a modified version of the collaborative memory paradigm with a new categorization task of verbal affective stimuli at encoding. Specifically, they were asked to classify 90 printed words into 6 categories, so as to have 15 words in each category and then did two recall tasks. Participants were assigned to one of five possible conditions according to encoding (collaborative, individual) and recall (collaborative with the same partner, with another partner, and individual). Results show a collaborative encoding deficit and the classic collaborative inhibition effect independently of whether the encoding was collaborative or individual and even in a collaborative recall group that showed a degree of recall output organization comparable to that of the individual recall group. These results are not wholly consistent with a retrieval disruption explanation and are discussed according to divided attention during collaborative recall and how it may contribute to the collaborative inhibition effect.