The Mismeasurement of Mind: Life-Span Changes in Paired-Associate-Learning Scores Reflect the “Cost” of Learning, Not Cognitive Decline

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1171-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ramscar ◽  
Ching Chu Sun ◽  
Peter Hendrix ◽  
Harald Baayen
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Paired Associate ◽  
Computational Simulation ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
The Cost

The age-related declines observed in scores on paired-associate-learning (PAL) tests are widely taken as support for the idea that human cognitive capacities decline across the life span. In a computational simulation, we showed that the patterns of change in PAL scores are actually predicted by the models that formalize the associative learning process in other areas of behavioral and neuroscientific research. These models also predict that manipulating language exposure can reproduce the experience-related performance differences erroneously attributed to age-related decline in age-matched adults. Consistent with this, results showed that older bilinguals outperformed native speakers in a German PAL test, an advantage that increased with age. These analyses and results show that age-related PAL performance changes reflect the predictable effects of learning on the associability of test items, and indicate that failing to control for these effects is distorting the understanding of cognitive and brain development in adulthood.

VStore: A Novel Virtual Reality Assessment of Functional Cognition (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilla Alexandra Porffy ◽  
Mitul A. Mehta ◽  
Joel Patchitt ◽  
Celia Boussebaa ◽  
Jack Brett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Paired Associate ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits are present in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and depression. Assessments used to measure cognition in these disorders are time-consuming, burdensome, and have low ecological validity. To address these limitations, we developed a novel virtual reality shopping task – VStore. OBJECTIVE This study aims to establish the concurrent and construct validity of VStore in relation to the established computerized cognitive battery, Cogstate; and tests its sensitivity to age related cognitive decline. METHODS Hundred and four healthy volunteers aged 20-79 completed both assessments. Main VStore outcomes included: 1) verbal recall of 12 grocery items, 2) time to collect items, 3) time to select items on a self-checkout machine, 4) time to make the payment, 5) time to order coffee, and 6) total completion time. To establish concurrent validity, bivariate correlations were performed between VStore outcomes and Cogstate tasks measuring attention, processing speed, verbal and visual learning, working memory, executive function, and paired associate learning. Construct validity analysis was also performed to examine which cognitive domains best predicted VStore performance. Finally, two ridge regression models were built using VStore outcomes in the first, and Cogstate outcomes in the second model as predictors of biological age to compare their sensitivity to age-related cognitive decline. RESULTS We found moderate correlations between VStore and Cogstate outcomes. VStore Total Time was best explained by tasks measuring working memory and paired associate learning, in addition to age and technological familiarity, accounting for 46% of the variance. Finally, with λ = 5.16, the model fitting selected five parameters for VStore when predicting biological age (MSE = 185.8, SE= 19.34). With λ = 9.49 for Cogstate, the model fitting selected all eight tasks (MSE = 226.8, SE = 23.48). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that VStore is a promising assessment that engages standard cognitive domains and is sensitive to age-related cognitive decline. CLINICALTRIAL NA

EFFECTS OF LEARNING DIRECTION IN RETRIEVAL PRACTICE ON EFL VOCABULARY LEARNING

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Masato Terai ◽  
Junko Yamashita ◽  
Kelly E. Pasich
Keyword(s):  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Paired Associate ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Learning English

Abstract In paired-associate learning, there are two learning directions: L2 to L1 (L2 words as stimuli and L1 words as responses) and L1 to L2 (L1 words as stimuli and L2 words as responses). Results of previous studies that compared the effects of the two learning directions are not consistent. We speculated that the cause of this inconsistency may be L2 proficiency, as the strengths of the lexical links between L2 and L1 are different depending on the learner’s L2 proficiency. This hypothesis was examined with 28 native speakers of Japanese learning English. Participants studied novel English words in the two learning directions. The results of posttests showed that for lower-proficiency learners, L2-to-L1 learning was more effective than L1-to-L2 learning, while for higher-proficiency learners, L1-to-L2 learning was more effective. The findings suggest that L2 proficiency influences the effects of learning direction on vocabulary learning.

Paired Associate Learning: Age Differences

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-127
Author(s):  
Konstantinos V. Katsikopoulos ◽  
Donald L. Fisher ◽  
Michael T. Pullen
Keyword(s):  
Paired Associate ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Mathematical Tool ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Two Age Groups

The issue of age related differences in performance during the acqusition phase of a paired associate learning task is discussed within the framework of a precise mathematical tool. A two-stage, four-state Markov model is employed to analyze the data sets from two age groups consisting of 24 subjects each. The relative efficiencies of the acqusition processes of the younger and the older groups of adults are reflected in the different values of parameters. (These values were obtained by optimizing the fit of the model to the two data sets). The two major findings are: (i) the younger adults form associations (even temporary ones more easily) and (ii) these associations tend to decay less quickly, again in the younger adults. The results speak against the general decrement hypothesis, allthough further investigation is needed.

scholarly journals Age related-changes in the neural basis of self-generation in verbal paired associate learning

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 537-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Vannest ◽  
Thomas Maloney ◽  
Benjamin Kay ◽  
Miriam Siegel ◽  
Jane B. Allendorfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Paired Associate ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Reactivity of Judgments of Learning in a Levels-of-Processing Paradigm

2020 ◽  
Vol 228 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eylul Tekin ◽  
Henry L. Roediger
Keyword(s):  
Target Word ◽  
Paired Associate ◽  
Judgments Of Learning ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Levels Of Processing ◽  
Pleasantness Rating ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Counting Task ◽  
Reactive Effect ◽  
Target Words

Abstract. Recent studies have shown that judgments of learning (JOLs) are reactive measures in paired-associate learning paradigms. However, evidence is scarce concerning whether JOLs are reactive in other paradigms. In old/new recognition experiments, we investigated the reactivity effects of JOLs in a levels-of-processing (LOP) paradigm. In Experiments 1 and 2, for each word, subjects saw a yes/no orienting question followed by the target word and a response. Then, they either did or did not make a JOL. The yes/no questions were about target words’ appearances, rhyming properties, or category memberships. In Experiment 3, for each word, subjects gave a pleasantness rating or counted the letter “e ”. Our results revealed that JOLs enhanced recognition across all orienting tasks in Experiments 1 and 2, and for the e-counting task in Experiment 3. This reactive effect was salient for shallow tasks, attenuating – but not eliminating – the LOP effect after making JOLs. We conclude that JOLs are reactive in LOP paradigms and subjects encode words more effectively when providing JOLs.

Age, pacing, and imagery in paired-associate learning.

1976 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy J. Treat ◽  
Hayne W. Reese
Keyword(s):  
Paired Associate ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Associate Learning
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document