Interference Can Affect Response Times to False Items in Category Verification

Previous research has found faster response times in category verification tasks to false stimuli pairing highly similar coordinate concepts (“pea—bean”) than to false stimuli pairing less similar coordinate concepts (“pea—onion”). Such a finding indicates that knowledge of which concepts are coordinate to one another is represented within a semantic network. However, the finding has not been entirely consistent. One reason for that inconsistency may be that the faster retrieval of a coordinate association between highly related words is offset by hesitancy on the part of participants to make a “false” response to strongly related stimuli. To test this hypothesis, termed the relation-strength interference hypothesis, participants served in two conditions. In the Similarity condition, they judged whether pairs of words were semantically similar. In the Classification condition, they judged whether pairs of words exhibited a class-inclusion relation “pea—vegetable”) or a coordinate relation. Both conditions included both coordinate items and class-inclusion items. Latencies were longer in the Classification condition than in the Similarity condition. The increase in latency in the Classification condition relative to the Similarity condition, however, was the same for coordinate items as for class-inclusion items, a finding consistent with the relation-strength interference hypothesis.

Does (Dis)Similarity Information about a New Acquaintance Lead to Liking or Repulsion? An Experimental Test of a Classic Social Psychology Issue

Decades of social psychology research has established the importance of similarity in leading to attraction. However, in response to early social psychology experiments demonstrating the similarity effect, Rosenbaum proposed the repulsion hypothesis, arguing that similarity does not lead to liking, but rather, dissimilarity leads to repulsion. Research to address whether dissimilarity carries more weight than similarity has generally involved participants’ reactions to sterile information about a bogus other whom they never meet. In contrast, in this study ( N = 150), individuals first greeted another participant over Skype before they received manipulated (bogus) information on similarity or dissimilarity. In support of the similarity-attraction hypothesis, the two-step experimental design indicated that the participants in the similarity condition experienced an increase in liking and other positive reactions from before to after the receipt of the bogus similarity information. Participants in the dissimilarity condition, however, experienced no change (i.e., no repulsion effect).

Young and Older Adults May Utilize Different Cognitive Abilities When Performing a Spatial Recognition Memory Test With Varying Levels of Similarity

We used signal detection theory to evaluate spatial recognition memory utilizing a behavioral test hypothesized to tax pattern separation. Correlations with standardized neuropsychological tests also were examined. Healthy young ( n = 40) and older ( n = 30) adults completed a spatial recognition memory test involving high- and low-similarity conditions. Using d’ as the dependent variable, we found that older adults were significantly impaired relative to young adults on the high- and low-similarity conditions ( ps < .05). Both groups performed significantly better in the low-similarity condition compared to the high-similarity condition ( p < .05), with young adults exhibiting greater improvement relative to older adults. We also found that young adults may rely on spatial attention abilities when performing our test, while older adults might rely on memory and executive function abilities. These findings indicate that young and older adults may utilize different cognitive abilities when performing certain spatial memory tests.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE COHERENCE OF READER’S LETTERS IN THE JAKARTA POST NEWSPAPER

The objectives of the study are: 1) to find out how coherent of the texts in reader’s letters of Jakarta post newspaper. 2) to find out the coherence markers found in the texts. 3) to find out the dominant coherence markers found in the texts.ance it just collected and analyzed the data then drew a conclusion based on the data without taking into general conclusion. The data analyzed were 5 texts of reader’s letters of Jakarta Post newspaper which published on May 2014. The instrument of this study was documentation in the form of reader’s letters texts in Jakarta Post newspaper published on May 2014.The analysis of the texts was based on the logical order and transitional signals used. The result of the analysis showed that the reader’s letter texts in the Jakarta Post newspaper have logical ideas that arranged orderly and the transitional signals used were appropriate with its function. So, it can be concluded that the texts were have good coherence. Coherence markers found in the texts were in the type of coherence relations which functioned as temporal sequence, cause-effect, similarity, condition, contrast, elaboration, example, and violated expectation. The dominant coherence markers found were the coherence markers which include in the type of temporal sequence, cause-effect, similarity, condition and contrast relation. The coherence markers make the texts more coherent because it helps to make the communication clearer for the readers. The writer has some suggestions for English lecturers and the readers. The writer suggests the English lecturers to use reader’s letter texts of English newspaper as the examples in teaching writing, especially about coherence of the texts. Moreover, the readers can use this result of the study as the reference in studying writing. Thus, the readers can make the coherence writing that readable and can be understood easily by the others

An inequality for similarity condition numbers of unbounded operators with Schatten - von Neumann Hermitian components

Let H be a linear unbounded operator in a separable Hilbert space. It is assumed the resolvent of H is a compact operator and H ? H* is a Schatten - von Neumann operator. Various integro-differential operators satisfy these conditions. Under certain assumptions it is shown that H is similar to a normal operator and a sharp bound for the condition number is suggested. We also discuss applications of that bound to spectrum perturbations and operator functions.