The Representation of Meaning in Memory (PLE: Memory)

The Representation of Meaning in Memory (PLE: Memory)
Author: Walter Kintsch
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2014-05-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317744896

Originally published in 1974, this volume presents empirical and theoretical investigations of the role of meaning in psychological processes. A theory is proposed for the representation of the meaning of texts, employing ordered lists of propositions. The author explores the adequacy of this representation, with respect to the demands made upon such formulations by logicians and linguists. A sufficiently large number of problems are encompassed by the propositional theory to justify its use in psychological research into memory and language comprehension. A number of different experiments are reported on a wide variety of topics, and these test central portions of this theory, and any that purports to deal with how humans represent meaning. Among the topics discussed are the role of lexical decomposition in comprehension and memory, propositions as the units of recall, and the effects of the number of propositions in a text base upon reading rate and recall. New problems are explored, such as inferential processes during reading, differences in levels of memory for text, and retrieval speed for textual information. On the other hand, a study of retrieval from semantic memory focusses on a problem of much current research. The final review chapter relates the present work to other current research in the area at the time.

The Representation of Meaning in Memory (PLE: Memory)

The Representation of Meaning in Memory (PLE: Memory)
Author: Walter Kintsch
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2014-05-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317744888

Originally published in 1974, this volume presents empirical and theoretical investigations of the role of meaning in psychological processes. A theory is proposed for the representation of the meaning of texts, employing ordered lists of propositions. The author explores the adequacy of this representation, with respect to the demands made upon such formulations by logicians and linguists. A sufficiently large number of problems are encompassed by the propositional theory to justify its use in psychological research into memory and language comprehension. A number of different experiments are reported on a wide variety of topics, and these test central portions of this theory, and any that purports to deal with how humans represent meaning. Among the topics discussed are the role of lexical decomposition in comprehension and memory, propositions as the units of recall, and the effects of the number of propositions in a text base upon reading rate and recall. New problems are explored, such as inferential processes during reading, differences in levels of memory for text, and retrieval speed for textual information. On the other hand, a study of retrieval from semantic memory focusses on a problem of much current research. The final review chapter relates the present work to other current research in the area at the time.

The Processing of Memories (PLE: Memory)

The Processing of Memories (PLE: Memory)
Author: Norman E. Spear
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 570
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317743849

Originally published in 1978, this volume contains the evidence that is most crucial for our understanding the processes of forgetting and retention. Organized in terms of problem areas and issues that are particularly pertinent to understanding these processes, the book deals with both animal and human studies. The author begins by defining the topic and reviewing its historical development. A theoretical orientation follows, and then the author begins to address the major factors that determine what is, and what is not, remembered. Although we cannot yet specify the principles from which we can predict when an episode, once learned, will be remembered well or forgotten entirely, the author demonstrates that such principles are not that far away. He considers the issues that must be resolved before such principles are established, and in the course of doing so covers the major research on why we remember events and why they are forgotten.

Functional Disorders of Memory (PLE: Memory)

Functional Disorders of Memory (PLE: Memory)
Author: John Kihlstrom
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317745523

Originally published in 1979, the chapters in this volume summarize the available knowledge pertaining to a variety of functional – as opposed to explicitly organic – amnesias and disruptions of memory. Each chapter is written by an expert, and each author has attempted to integrate his area of inquiry into the contemporary body of theory and research on memory and cognition. Functional memory disorders may prove to be a significant testing ground for current theorizing, and the study of these phenomena may provide insights into memory and cognition that might be obscured in the usual sorts of laboratory investigations. The intent of the volume is to contribute to the development of a more comprehensive account of the processes involved in remembering and forgetting. The reader will find bold new treatments of repression and childhood amnesia, systematic explorations of certain experimental amnesias, and challenging analyses of the anomalies of everyday memory, in this ground-breaking work of the time.

Imagery, Memory and Cognition (PLE: Memory)

Imagery, Memory and Cognition (PLE: Memory)
Author: John C. Yuille
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317685466

Originally published in 1983, the 14 chapters in this volume are based upon presentations made to a conference held at the University of Western Ontario in June, 1981. The primary purpose of that conference was to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Allan Paivio’s text, Imagery and Verbal Processes, and to acknowledge the continuing contribution that Paivio was making to imagery research and theory at the time. His landmark book had been the major publication in the field of imagery, and during the decade prior to this volume Paivio’s theorizing and research dominated the investigation of imaginal processes. It was felt the most appropriate way to honor his achievements and activities, was to hold a conference on current developments in imagery research and theory at the time.

The Memory Trace (PLE: Memory)

The Memory Trace (PLE: Memory)
Author: Erich Goldmeier
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317695410

There was some agreement about what memory traces were not, but little about what actually did characterize the memory trace. Yet models and theories of memory at the time could not help making implicit and often unrecognized assumptions about the memory trace. Originally published in 1982, this title aimed to strengthen the meagre base on which memory theories rested at the time. It challenges old assumptions and introduces new concepts, foremost the notion of singularity, as they become necessary to understand traces adequately. Some research data of the past was found in need of reinterpretation. The result is a new theory of the memory trace.

Temporal Codes for Memories (PLE: Memory)

Temporal Codes for Memories (PLE: Memory)
Author: Benton J. Underwood
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 151
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317704835

Given two events, both of which are well remembered, can we specify which event occurred first? If so, how? For example, did Nixon resign, before or after Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs? Originally published in 1977, little was known about the accuracy of temporal codes for memories, and still less about the nature of the codes. This volume addresses the central question of the mechanisms by which order information is attached to memories. The results of sixteen previously unpublished experiments indicate the role of some independent variables on temporal coding in relatively short-term memory and in long-term memory. Several experiments, in which changes in proactive inhibition are used as an index of temporal differentiation, show that the nature of the words making up the lists is involved fundamentally in temporal coding. Other experiments demonstrate that in relatively short-term memory a subject cannot learn to improve his performance in estimating how far apart in time two events occurred. Still other experiments show that recency judgments for two events improve with practice, but the improvement is independent of the temporal separation. The context in which memories are established is shown to influence temporal codes only if an ordering metric is part of the context. The author advances several theoretical propositions to account for the various findings. In doing so he has given initial structuring for subsequent research to a neglected area. This volume will still be of significant interest to all those interested in learning and memory.

Psycholinguistics (PLE: Psycholinguistics)

Psycholinguistics (PLE: Psycholinguistics)
Author: Alan Garnham
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-10-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1135006784

Originally published in 1985, this title was an important new teaching text at the time. Alan Garnham focuses on current theories about the central cognitive aspects of language understanding, and attempts to reflect the emergence of cognitive science, an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of language and other cognitive processes. As well as describing psychological studies, the text includes ideas from linguistics, artificial intelligence, the philosophy of language and formal logic. Some introductory remarks on the study of language understanding precede a discussion of word recognition and the computation of the syntactic structure of sentences. The central part of the book is concerned with questions about meaning, the mental representation of word meanings, and text comprehension. The final two chapters address questions of how the parts of the language processing system operate together, and how language production is related to comprehension. Rather than attempting an exhaustive discussion of empirical research on his chosen topics, the author gives the reader the flavour of linguistic arguments. In particular, Psycholinguistics attempts to indicate the problems and also the possibilities of relating experimental data to theories of language processing. Psycholinguistics will still be useful reading on courses in psycholinguistics, language and thought, and cognitive psychology.

The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology

The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology
Author: David H. Barlow
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 977
Release: 2014
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0199328714

The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology synthesizes a half-century of clinical psychology literature in one extraordinary volume. Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in the field, this handbook provides even and authoritative coverage of the research, practice, and policy factors that combine to form today's clinical psychology landscape. It is a landmark publication that is sure to serve as the field's benchmark reference publication for years to come.