European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 

About: European Journal of Cognitive Psychology is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Recall & Cognition. It has an ISSN identifier of 0954-1446. Over the lifetime, 718 publications have been published receiving 29675 citations.

Perception and Action Planning

Abstract: A new framework for the understanding of functional relationships between perception and action is discussed. According to this framework, perceived events and planned actions share a common representational domain (common-coding approach). Supporting evidence from two classes of experimental paradigms is presented: induction paradigms and interference paradigms. Induction paradigms study how certain stimuli induce certain actions by virtue of similarity. Evidence from two types of induction tasks is reviewed: sensorimotor synchronisation and spatial compatibility tasks. Interference paradigms study the mutual interference between the perception of ongoing events and the preparation and control of ongoing action. Again, evidence from two types of such tasks is reviewed, implying interference in either direction. It is concluded that the evidence available supports the common coding principle. A further general principle emerging from these studies is the action effect principle that is, the principle that...

Length, frequency, and predictability effects of words on eye movements in reading

Abstract: We tested the effects of word length, frequency, and predictability on inspection durations (first fixation, single fixation, gaze duration, and reading time) and inspection probabilities during first‐pass reading (skipped, once, twice) for a corpus of 144 German sentences (1138 words) and a subset of 144 target words uncorrelated in length and frequency, read by 33 young and 32 older adults. For corpus words, length and frequency were reliably related to inspection durations and probabilities, predictability only to inspection probabilities. For first‐pass reading of target words all three effects were reliable for inspection durations and probabilities. Low predictability was strongly related to second‐pass reading. Older adults read slower than young adults and had a higher frequency of regressive movements. The data are to serve as a benchmark for computational models of eye movement control in reading.

Testing the testing effect in the classroom

Abstract: Laboratory studies show that taking a test on studied material promotes subsequent learning and retention of that material on a final test (termed the testing effect). Educational research has virtually ignored testing as a technique to improve classroom learning. We investigated the testing effect in a college course. Students took weekly quizzes followed by multiple choice criterial tests (unit tests and a cumulative final). Weekly quizzes included multiple choice or short answer questions, after which feedback was provided. As an exposure control, in some weeks students were presented target material for additional reading. Quizzing, but not additional reading, improved performance on the criterial tests relative to material not targeted by quizzes. Further, short answer quizzes produced more robust benefits than multiple choice quizzes. This pattern converges with laboratory findings showing that recall tests are more beneficial than recognition tests for subsequent memory performance. We conclude that in the classroom testing can be used to promote learning, not just to evaluate learning.

Test format and corrective feedback modify the effect of testing on long-term retention

Abstract: We investigated the effects of format of an initial test and whether or not students received corrective feedback on that test on a final test of retention 3 days later. In Experiment 1, subjects studied four short journal papers. Immediately after reading each paper, they received either a multiple choice (MC) test, a short answer (SA) test, a list of statements to read, or a filler task. The MC test, SA test, and list of statements tapped identical facts from the studied material. No feedback was provided during the initial tests. On a final test 3 days later (consisting of MC and SA questions), having had an intervening MC test led to better performance than an intervening SA test, but the intervening MC condition did not differ significantly from the read statements condition. To better equate exposure to test-relevant information, corrective feedback during the initial tests was introduced in Experiment 2. With feedback provided, having had an intervening SA test led to the best performance on the fi...

The role of working memory in mental arithmetic

Abstract: We reviewed the literature on the role of working memory in the solution of arithmetic problems such as 3 + 4 or 345 + 29. The literature was neither comprehensive nor systematic, but a few conclusions are tenable. First, all three components of the working memory system proposed by Baddeley (i.e., central executive, phonological loop, and visual‐spatial sketchpad) play a role in mental arithmetic, albeit under different conditions. Second, mental arithmetic requires central executive resources, even for single‐digit problems. Third, further progress in understanding the role of working memory in arithmetic requires that researchers systematically manipulate factors such as presentation conditions (e.g., operand duration, format), problem complexity, task requirements (e.g., verification vs production), and response requirements (e.g., spoken vs written); and that they consider individual differences in solution procedures. Fourth, the encoding‐complex model (Campbell, 1994) seems more likely to account f...