Empirical Investigation of the Verbal Cues Involved in Delivering Experiential Metaphors

Delivering metaphors experientially has been emphasized in several psychotherapies, such as acceptance and commitment therapy. However, few research has analyzed the variables involved in the efficacy of metaphors. This experimental analog study aims to advance in this topic by analyzing the effect of two components involved in the experiential delivery of metaphors in psychotherapy. The first component is presenting the metaphor by asking the individual to imagine herself as the protagonist of the story versus presenting the metaphor in the third person (Self vs. Other). The second component is the inclusion of verbal cues prompting the relational elaboration of the rules derived from the metaphor content versus not including these prompts (Elaboration vs. No Elaboration). The effect of these components was tested in a double-blind, randomized, 2 × 2 factorial experiment that used the cold pressor task (CPT). Eighty-four participants were exposed to the CPT at the pretest. Afterward, participants were randomly assigned to four experimental protocols. The protocols were audiotaped and consisted of the same metaphor presented in four slightly different ways. Specifically, the protocol of Condition A involved a metaphor with Self and Elaboration, Condition B involved Self and No Elaboration, Condition C involved Other and Elaboration, and Condition D involved Other and No Elaboration. Then, participants were re-exposed to the CPT in the posttest. We hypothesized that Condition A (Self and Elaboration) would show a higher mean increase in pain tolerance than the remaining conditions, which would show similar results. The results were consistent with this hypothesis because Condition A showed a higher percentual increase in pain tolerance (Condition A: M = 268.21, SD = 167.47; Condition B: M = 180.86, SD = 73.01; Condition C: M = 204.81, SD = 100.19; Condition D: M = 175.41, SD = 76.00). A Bayesian informative hypothesis evaluation showed that this hypothesis obtained the highest posterior model probability. Thus, the results indicate that introducing metaphors by asking the individual to imagine herself as the protagonist of the story and providing prompts for relational elaboration might increase the therapeutic effect of the metaphor.

EFFECT OF WITHIN-ITEM SOCIAL ELABORATION ON INCIDENTAL MEMORY

<p>The present study compared the effects of social and semantic elaboration on incidental memory. Two types of lists were provided to the participants: (1) a related list, in which a triplet of words had a common category name associated with each of them, and (2) an unrelated list, in which the three words did not have a common category name. Then, participants in the social elaboration condition generated a particular person’s name, and those in the semantic elaboration condition generated an association elicited by the three words. An unexpected free recall task followed. Results indicated higher recall of the related list in the social elaboration than in the semantic elaboration condition. In contrast, the unrelated list showed no difference between the two elaboration conditions. These results indicate that social elaboration functions as within-item elaboration, which is more effective than semantic elaboration.</p>

EFFECT OF WITHIN-ITEM SOCIAL ELABORATION ON INCIDENTAL MEMORY

<p>The present study compared the effects of social and semantic elaboration on incidental memory. Two types of lists were provided to the participants: (1) a related list, in which a triplet of words had a common category name associated with each of them, and (2) an unrelated list, in which the three words did not have a common category name. Then, participants in the social elaboration condition generated a particular person’s name, and those in the semantic elaboration condition generated an association elicited by the three words. An unexpected free recall task followed. Results indicated higher recall of the related list in the social elaboration than in the semantic elaboration condition. In contrast, the unrelated list showed no difference between the two elaboration conditions. These results indicate that social elaboration functions as within-item elaboration, which is more effective than semantic elaboration.</p>

Monitoring TiO2 Nanotubes Elaboration Condition, a Way for Obtaining Various Characteristics of Nanostructures

In this paper the elaboration and characterization of TiO2 nanotubes as a function of anodizing conditions are studied taking into consideration electrolyte composition and voltage. The obtained results show that the nanotubes dimensions and surface features depend on elaboration conditions. The technique of surface characteristics investigation (2D and 3 D images) was atomic force microscopy which permitted roughness and porosity evaluation.

Expanding retrieval practice: An effective aid to preschool children's learning

The benefits of expanding retrieval practice for preschool children were explored in two experiments. In Experiment 1, three groups learned names for six plush toy pigs using expanding retrieval practice, a reward incentive, or a control condition. Reward did not significantly improve learning but retrieval practice doubled recall. In Experiment 2, three groups learned names to soft toys, comparing recall following massed elaborative study with either expanding retrieval practice or expanding re-presentation. Recall was tested after 1 minute, 1 day, and 2 days. A very large effect size ( d = 1.9) indicated the very considerable benefit from expanding retrieval practice over the elaboration condition. Comparison with the re-presentation condition suggested that half of the benefit of expanding retrieval practice came from spaced scheduling and half from retrieval practice. Expanding retrieval practice provides an effective method to improve learning by young children.

Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of Ba1-xSrxTiO3 Thin Films Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

In this work, BST (x=0.7, 0.5, 0.3) films have been deposited onto Nb-SrTiO3 substrate with pulsed laser deposition. The crystal structure and surface morphology have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy, respectively. XRD results revealed that in certain elaboration condition the films were aligned along (00l) direction, normal to the substrate surface. The dielectric loss, relative dielectric permitivity, and polarization of BST films strongly depended on Sr content at room temperature. The tunability of relative dielectric permitivity of BST films exhibited strongly dependence on Sr content, and BST-0.5 shows the maximun K (K = tunability/loss) value.

Encoding Richness of Self-Generated Elaboration and Spacing Effects on Incidental Memory

The present study investigated encoding variability in self-generated elaboration on incidental memory as a function of the type of presentation which was either massed or spaced. The subjects generated different answers to a “why” question for the first and the second presentations of a target sentence in a self-generated elaboration condition. In an experimenter-provided elaboration condition they then rated the appropriateness of the different answers provided by the experimenter for the first and second presentations. This procedure was followed by two free recall tests, one of which was immediate and the other delayed. A self-generated elaboration effect was observed in both the spaced and the massed presentations. These results indicated that the self-generated elaboration effect was facilitated, even in the massed presentation because the different answers to the first and the second presentations led to a richer encoding of each target.

Changes across Age Groups in Self-Choice Elaboration and Incidental Memory

This study investigated differences in the self-choice elaboration and an experimenter-provided elaboration on incidental memory of 7- to 12-yr.-olds. In a self-choice elaboration condition 34 second and 25 sixth graders were asked to choose one of the two sentence frames into which each target could fit more congruously, whereas in an experimenter-provided elaboration they were asked to judge the congruity of each target to each frame. In free recall, sixth graders recalled targets in bizarre sentence frames better than second graders for self-choice elaboration condition. An age difference was not found for the experimenter-provided elaboration. In cued recall self-choice elaboration led to better performance of sixth graders for recalling targets than an experimenter-provided elaboration in both bizarre and common sentence frames. However, the different types of elaboration did not alter the recall of second graders. These results were interpreted as showing that the effectiveness of a self-choice elaboration depends on the subjects' age and the type of sentence.

Primacy and Recency in Recognition of Odours and Recall of Odour Names

This study examined the serial position curve for recognition of odours and recall of odour names, both with and without instructions for verbal elaboration. Participants were allocated to one of two experimental conditions, either with instructions to rehearse verbally the stimuli or with no elaboration instructions. After presentation of 17 odours, either recognition or free recall of the odours was tested immediately after presentation of the last target odour. Recognition showed evidence of primacy for the verbal elaboration condition and recency for both instruction conditions. Recall of odour names showed evidence of primacy for the verbal elaboration conditions and recency for both conditions. Instructions to verbalize did not significantly affect over-all performance for either test condition.

Does Stimulus Elaboration Potentiate Exposure in vivo Treatment? Two Forms of One-Session Treatment of Spider Phobia

The hypothesis that elaboration of the phobic stimulus potentiates exposure in vivo treatment was put to the test in a clinical experiment. Forty-one female spider phobics, who applied for treatment, were randomly allocated to one of two conditions. In both conditions a 2.5 hour therapist-directed exposure treatment was given. In the elaboration condition Ss were required to attend to and describe the objective features of the spider constantly. In the non-elaboration condition the therapist tried to prevent this. A manipulation check suggested that Ss in the elaboration condition had indeed elaborated more extensively on the objective features of the spiders during exposure than Ss in the non-elaboration condition. However, Ss in the elaboration condition practised with somewhat fewer spiders than Ss in the non-elaboration condition, probably because of the time the elaboration took. Contrary to the hypothesis, elaboration did not potentiate either short-term or long-term effects of the exposure treatment. It seems superfluous to let patients elaborate on the phobic stimulus during exposure in vivo treatment: the processing of phobic stimulus information which is needed for an effective treatment seems to occur spontaneously when the patient engages in exposure in vivo exercises.