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The ability of subjects to process English words in a spatially parallel manner was examined in several redundant-target detection tasks. When redundant targets were identical in a given display, processing limitations were evident in a task that required subjects to make semantic categorizations of words. However, parallel processing of identical redundant target words was exhibited in a lexical decision task that required a structural analysis of letter strings, but not an analysis of word meaning. The difference in performance in the two tasks suggests that the capacity for semantic processing is limited. Analyses designed to examine whether the redundancy gain in Experiment 2 could be attributed to limited capacity processing in conjunction with positional preferences provided evidence against this possibility. In addition, these analyses suggested that the processing times for the redundant targets in Experiment 2 might be positively correlated. In the third and fourth experiments, the redundant-target displays contained two different words. Processing interference, in the form of a redundancy loss, was evident in the lexical decision task, but not in the semantic categorization task, confirming a difference in the mode of processing between the two tasks. The results provide evidence against the unlimited-capacity, parallel processing hypothesis of late selection theories of attention.

Researchers developing or using health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments can benefit from knowledge of state-of-the-art formatting methods for self-administered questionnaires. Three objectives in formatting design are: (1) to reduce errors in respondent navigation through the questionnaire that lead to item non-response and question misinterpretation; (2) to reduce respondent and administrative burden; and (3) to enhance respondent motivation in question answering and compliance with the request to participate. Based on an extensive literature review to identify techniques that have been shown to meet these objectives, we developed specific guidelines for HRQOL instruments concerning all aspects of questionnaire formatting. These guidelines represent well-motivated recommendations for improving HRQOL instruments, although their overall impact has not been empirically tested. We applied the guidelines to several HRQOL instruments that are widely used internationally, and obtained approval from the developers for all formatting changes to their instruments. Applying cognitive design principles and empirically substantiated formatting techniques produces an HRQOL instrument formatting with six critical attributes: simple, consistent, organized, natural, clear and attractive. The present paper contributes to the emerging research literature on the cognitive processes by which respondents answer HRQOL questions and demonstrates how 'cognitive aspects of survey methodology' research can improve HRQOL data collection efforts.

Memory research, like other scientific research, disregards many variables in order to bring the full force of the scientific method to bear on clearly important variables. The reasons why memory research attends to certain variables and disregards others emanate largely from theoretical assumptions that distinguish memory systems from other psychological systems, and that distinguish variables intrinsic to memory from those extrinsic to memory. Nevertheless, a number of these 'forgotten' variables affect memory performance. Regardless of past practice, it is a mistake for memory research to continue to ignore relevant variables. Doing so introduces measurement error that contaminates memory performance measures, and classification error that precludes the discovery of legitimate memory variables. It is proposed here that if forgotten memory variables are controlled, manipulated, and measured more extensively, then future memory research will have greater power and memory theories will have greater validity.

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