Caren M. Rotello - US grants

Prior research suggests that at least two processes are involved in recognition judgments: A fast similarity-based process and a slower recall-like process. However, very little research has explored the specific operation of the recall process. Many researchers have proposed that the recall process operates in a recall-to-reject fashion. In a recall-to-reject process, a test foil that is similar to a studied stimulus is rejected (i.e., called "new") because the studied stimulus is recalled and the mismatch with the similar foil is noticed. For a variety of associative recognition tasks, such as recognizing whether two words were studied together or whether a test word was studied on a particular stimulus list, there is evidence for the use of such a recall-to-reject process. However, item recognition tasks have found no support for the use of recall-to-reject processing. Instead, the data from item recognition tasks are consistent with a recall-to-accept process in which a memory trace that matches the test probe must be retrieved in order for a positive ("old") response to be generated. The proposed research will provide more direct evidence on the operation of the recall-based process in item and associative recognition. New research will: 1) seek converging and unique evidence on the nature of the recall process using receiver- operating characteristic (ROC) curves, 2) estimate the contribution of the underlying processing using conjoint recognition theory, and 3) demonstrate a consequence of the recall process, namely, the inhibition of studied items that are similar to a studied test item. Two pilot studies provide evidence for this inhibitory phenomenon in a recognition task, and the proposed inhibition experiments will a) evaluate the development of that inhibition over processing time; b) determine the extent of the inhibition as a function of the similarity and number of studied items; and c) explore the relationship between the presence or absence of inhibition and the specific operation of the recall process (i.e., recall-to-reject or recall-to- accept).

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One-process models of recognition memory assume that judgments are based on the familiarity of the test probe; two-process models assume that the familiarity-based process is sometimes supplemented by the output of a recollective process. A variety of methods, including evaluation of receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves, have been used to provide evidence for the two-process view (e.g., Rotello, Macmillan, and Van Tassel, 2000). Other researchers have chosen a potentially more direct route to the two processes that underlie recognition, using subjective judgments of "remembering" and "knowing" to measure recollection and familiarity (Tulving, 1985). Yonelinas (2001) has argued that these "R-K" judgments produce the same estimates of the processes as are obtained from ROC data. We propose a new two-dimensional SDT model of R-K judgments (Rotello, Macmillan, and Reeder, resubmitted). In our model, Old items differ from New ones in both global and specific memory strength. Global strength can be thought of as traditional "familiarity," and specific strength as either continuous recollective process or familiarity of an item based on specific details. Old-new judgments are based on a weighted sum of these dimensions, and R-K decisions are based on a weighted difference. Our model accurately describes existing recognition and Remember-Know data, and makes novel predictions about several new kinds of ROCs (i.e., ROCs based on "remember" or "know" responses only). These ROC curves distinguish our model from existing one- and two-process models that have been applied to R-K data. Importantly, the two-dimensional model assumes that Remember and Know judgments are not "process-pure"; they do not measure recollection or familiarity directly. We will explore our model using a two-pronged approach, involving both (1) empirical evaluation of the two-dimensional model and (2) theoretical generalization of the model to other experimental situations. Proposed empirical work involves the production of various kinds of ROC curves, along with the comparison of the shape and extent of those curves to theoretically-generated curves. Theoretical work will generalize the two-dimensional model of R-K judgments to account for other findings in recognition, such as linear ROC functions and the time-course of recognition.

Are there two kinds of reasoning? Informally, people often make a distinction between reasoning by intuition versus reasoning by logical deliberation. Intuition generates a "quick and dirty" answer, whereas logical deliberation takes time and effort but yields a more justifiable answer. Despite the appeal of this distinction, the scientific evidence for it is lacking. Most psychological theories of reasoning either focus on only one kind of reasoning, or assume that there are two kinds but do not spell out the details of how they are applied in different situations. However, in other areas of psychology such as memory research, the hypothesis of complementary slow and fast systems has been pursued in depth with considerable success.

With support of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Heit and Dr. Rotello will study reasoning using techniques that have been adapted from memory research. For example, participants in experiments will solve reasoning problems with different time deadlines: The intuitive system is expected to dominate quicker judgments and the deliberative system is expected to dominate slower judgments. The program of empirical research is complemented by the development of mathematical models of reasoning processes. These models will help in designing reasoning problems that can be used to test the underlying theories, as well as assess reasoning skills. For instance, the problems will be administered to undergraduate students at the beginning and end of a course on critical thinking. The models will be used to identify which aspects of reasoning skill are improved by course instruction. This project will help to establish research partnerships between the psychology departments at the University of Massachusetts and the newest research university in the US, the University of California, Merced, which has a high proportion of first generation college students and other under-represented groups.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One-process models of recognition memory assume that judgments are based on the familiarity of the test probe. Two-process models assume that the familiarity-based process may be supplemented by the output of a recollective process. One type of evidence for two-process models has come from subjective reports of whether a particular test item is recognized on the basis of recollection or familiarity, using a remember-know (R-K) procedure (Tulving, 1985). Quantitative modeling has been applied to R-K judgments only recently, and a number of candidate models have emerged. Like models of recognition, models of R-K come in one- and two-process forms. The one-dimensional signal detection (SDT) explanation of R-K judgments was first proposed by Donaldson (1996) but has been extended by Wixted and Stretch (2004). We proposed a two-dimensional SDT model known as STREAK (Rotello, Macmillan, & Reeder, 2004). Other two-process models have been suggested by Reder et al. (2000), Yonelinas (2002), and Murdock (in press). We focus on distinguishing these alternative models, using ROC curves and analysis of RT distributions as the primary methodological tools. Aims 1 and 3 evaluate the source of the variability assumed in SDT models. In recognition tasks, variability arises from differences among the stimuli, and models typically treat all kinds of variability alike. That this is an obvious oversimplification in the R-K paradigm: surely some items are more likely to lead to R responses than others. We address this issue by varying stimulus characteristics in our typical word-recognition experiments (Aim 1), and by studying memory for faces (Aim 3). Aim 2 takes a different approach to model evaluation, focusing on the RT distributions for "old" responses that are followed by R or K judgments. The statistics of these distributions are informative about whether the same process(es) underlie the judgments. We take advantage of this fact to test models of R-K decisions. This is clearly a basic research program. However, understanding the mechanisms by which recognition judgments are made in healthy adults is critical to understanding the problems that can develop after brain injury or in later life. This research will have implications for amnesia, aging effects such as cognitive slowing, and prosopagnosia (the inability to recognize faces); it is also relevant for eyewitness memory. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The program in applied and basic cognition is distinguished by: (1) a commitment to research on basic processes associated with and that extend to applied issues; (2) a broad, integrative approach to research on cognition beginning at development from infancy; (3) extensive inter-area and interdisciplinary research collaboration by faculty and trainees; and (4) an emphasis on appropriate and rigorous methodology. Research loci of the training grant include discourse comprehension, language processing, attention and perception, memory, quantitative reasoning and problem solving, and early sensorimotor development and its relationship to cognition. Included within these foci are the implications for such applied issues as reading and reading assessment, television viewing, mathematics and science learning, and the consequences of evolving technologies on human performance. The 4 predoctoral trainees will be selected each year from among the graduate students of Division II of the Department of Psychology. These students will typically be in years 2-4 of their training. All students receive a broad exposure to cognition and the methodologies of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science. However, they concentrate in either the Cognitive or Developmental Psychology areas. The traineeships are designed to support students in pursuing interests in basic and applied research free of the burden of duties typically associated with other teaching or research assistantships. The 4 postdoctoral trainees are selected from among a national pool of applicants on the basis of interests, prior training, accomplishments, and recommendations. Postdoctoral trainees are selected who can best benefit from the interdisciplinary collaborative research experiences offered by the program.