Are small additions solved by direct retrieval from memory or automated counting procedures? A rejoinder to Chen and Campbell (2018)

Contrary to the longstanding and consensual hypothesis that adults mainly solve small single-digit additions by directly retrieving their answer from long-term memory, it has been recently argued that adults could solve small additions through fast automated counting procedures. In a recent article, Chen and Campbell (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25, 739–753, 2018) reviewed the main empirical evidence on which this alternative hypothesis is based, and concluded that there is no reason to jettison the retrieval hypothesis. In the present paper, we pinpoint the fact that Chen and Campbell reached some of their conclusions by excluding some of the problems that need to be considered for a proper argumentation against the automated counting procedure theory. We also explain why, contrary to Chen and Campbell’s assumption, the network interference model proposed by Campbell (Mathematical Cognition, 1, 121–164, 1995) cannot account for our data. Finally, we clarify a theoretical point of our model.

Natural number bias in arithmetic operations with missing numbers – A reaction time study

When reasoning about numbers, students are susceptible to a natural number bias (NNB): When reasoning about non-natural numbers they use properties of natural numbers that do not apply. The present study examined the NNB when students are asked to evaluate the validity of algebraic equations involving multiplication and division, with an unknown, a given operand, and a given result; numbers were either small or large natural numbers, or decimal numbers (e.g., 3 × _ = 12, 6 × _ = 498, 6.1 × _ = 17.2). Equations varied on number congruency (unknown operands were either natural or rational numbers), and operation congruency (operations were either consistent – e.g., a product is larger than its operand – or inconsistent with natural number arithmetic). In a response-time paradigm, 77 adults viewed equations and determined whether a number could be found that would make the equation true. The results showed that the NNB affects evaluations in two main ways: a) the tendency to think that missing numbers are natural numbers; and b) the tendency to associate each operation with specific size of result, i.e., that multiplication makes bigger and division makes smaller. The effect was larger for items with small numbers, which is likely because these number combinations appear in the multiplication table, which is automatized through primary education. This suggests that students may count on the strategy of direct fact retrieval from memory when possible. Overall the findings suggest that the NNB led to decreased student performance on problems requiring rational number reasoning.

Computational models of retrieval processes in sentence processing

Sentence comprehension requires that the comprehender work out who did what to whom. This process has been characterized as retrieval from memory. This review summarizes the quantitative predictions and empirical coverage of the two existing computational models of retrieval, and shows how the predictive performance of these two competing models can be tested against a benchmark data-set. We also show how computational modeling can help us better understand sources of variability in both unimpaired and impaired sentence comprehension.

Are Figurative Interpretations of Idioms Directly Retrieved, Compositionally Built, or Both? Evidence from Eye Movement Measures of Reading

Idioms are part of a general class of multiword expressions where the overall interpretation cannot befully determined through a simple syntactic and semantic (i.e., compositional) analysis of theircomponent words (e.g., kick the bucket, save your skin). Idioms are thus simultaneously amenable todirect retrieval from memory, and to an on-demand compositional analysis, yet it is unclear whichprocesses lead to figurative interpretations of idioms during comprehension. In this eye-tracking study,healthy adults read sentences in their native language that contained idioms, which were followed byfigurative- or literal-biased disambiguating sentential information. The results showed that the earlieststages of comprehension are driven by direct retrieval of idiomatic forms, however, later stages ofcomprehension, after which point the intended meaning of an idiom is known, are driven by both directretrieval and compositional processing. Of note, at later stages, increased idiom decomposabilityslowed reading time, suggesting more effortful figurative comprehension. Together, these results aremost consistent with multi-determined or hybrid models of idiom processing.

Age-Related Differences in Recall and Recognition: A Meta Analysis

Relative to younger adults, older adults tend to perform more poorly on tests of both free recall and item recognition memory. The age difference in performance is typically larger for recall tasks relative to those involving recognition. However, there have been reports of comparable age-related differences in free recall and item recognition performance. Further, a differential performance cost does not necessarily mean that processes involved in recall are specifically affected by age. Here we present a meta-analysis of 36 articles reporting 89 direct comparisons of free recall and item recognition in younger and older groups of participants. Standardized effect sizes reveal that age differences are larger for recall tasks (Hedges' g = 0.89, 95% confidence intervals [0.75, 1.03]) than for recognition tasks (0.54, [0.37, 0.72]). Further, Brinley analyses of the data suggest that distinct functions are needed to relate younger and older performance for the two tasks. These functions differ in intercept pointing to a disproportionate age difference in recall relative to recognition. This is in line with theories of memory and aging which posit specific deficits in processes related to search and retrieval from memory.

Cohort and Rhyme Priming Emerge from the Multiplex Network Structure of the Mental Lexicon

Complex networks recently opened new ways for investigating how language use is influenced by the mental representation of word similarities. This work adopts the framework of multiplex lexical networks for investigating lexical retrieval from memory. The focus is on priming, i.e., exposure to a given stimulus facilitating or inhibiting retrieval of a given lexical item. Supported by recent findings of network distance influencing lexical retrieval, the multiplex network approach tests how the layout of hundreds of thousands of word-word similarities in the mental lexicon can lead to priming effects on multiple combined semantic and phonological levels. Results provide quantitative evidence that phonological priming effects are encoded directly in the multiplex structure of the mental representation of words sharing phonemes either in their onsets (cohort priming) or at their ends (rhyme priming). By comparison with randomised null models, both cohort and rhyming effects are found to be emerging properties of the mental lexicon arising from its multiplexity. These priming effects are absent on individual layers but become prominent on the combined multiplex structure. The emergence of priming effects is displayed both when only semantic layers are considered, an approximated representation of the so-called semantic memory, and when semantics is enriched with phonological similarities, an approximated representation of the lexical-auditory nature of the mental lexicon. Multiplex lexical networks can account for connections between semantic and phonological information in the mental lexicon and hence represent a promising modelling route for shedding light on the interplay between multiple aspects of language and human cognition in synergy with experimental psycholinguistic data.

Cohort and rhyme priming emerge from the multiplex network structure of the mental lexicon

Complex networks recently opened new ways for investigating how language use is influenced by the mental representation of word similarities. This work adopts the framework of multiplex lexical networks for investigating lexical retrieval from memory. The focus is on priming effects, where the processing of couple of words sharing specific features is faster and more accurate. Supported by recent findings of network distance influencing lexical retrieval, the multiplex network approach tests how the layout of hundreds of thousands of word-word similarities in the mental lexicon of words can lead to priming effects on multiple, combined semantic and phonological levels.Results provides quantitative evidence that priming effects are encoded directly in the multiplex structure of the mental representation of words sharing phonemes either in their onsets (cohort priming) or at their ends (rhyme priming). By comparison with randomised null models, both cohort and priming effects are found to be emerging properties of the mental lexicon arising from its multiplexity: These priming effects are absent on individual layers but become prominent on the combined multiplex structure. The emergence of priming effects due to the multiplex nature of the mental lexicon is displayed both in case only semantic layers are considered, an approximated representation of the so-called semantic memory, but also when semantics is enriched with phonological similarities, an approximated representation of the lexical-auditory nature of the mental lexicon. These results indicate that multiplex lexical networks represent an insightful approach for shedding light on the interplay between multiple aspects of language and human cognition, as it can open new paths for the quantification of cognitive patterns in synergy with experimental psycholinguistic data.

Effects of Aging on General and Specific Memory for Impressions

Despite the number of documented declines in memory with age, memory for socioemotional information can be preserved into older adulthood. These studies assessed whether memory for character information could be preserved with age, and how the general versus specific nature of the information tested affected outcomes. We hypothesized that memory for general impressions would be preserved with age, but that memory for specific details would be impaired. In two experiments, younger and older adults learned character information about individuals characterized as positive, neutral, or negative. Participants then retrieved general impressions and specific information for each individual. The testing conditions in Experiment 2 discouraged deliberate recall. In Experiment 1, we found that younger performed better than older adults on both general and specific memory measures. Although age differences in memory for specific information persisted in Experiment 2, we found that younger and older adults remembered general impressions to a similar extent when testing conditions encouraged the use of “gut impressions” rather than deliberate retrieval from memory. We conclude that aging affects memory for specific character information, but memory for general impressions can be age-equivalent. Furthermore, there is no evidence for a positivity bias or differences in the effects of valence on memory across the age groups.