Here we argue that semantic relations (e.g., works in: nurse-hospital) have abstract independent representations in long-term memory (LTM) and that the same representation is accessed by all exemplars of a specific relation. We present evidence from 2 associative recognition experiments that uncovered a novel relational luring effect (RLE) in recognition memory. Participants studied word pairs, and then discriminated between intact (old) pairs and recombined lures. In the first experiment participants responded more slowly to lures that were relationally similar (table-cloth) to studied pairs (floor-carpet), in contrast to relationally dissimilar lures (pipe-water). Experiment 2 extended the RLE by showing a continuous effect of relational lure strength on recognition times (RTs), false alarms, and hits. It used a continuous pair recognition task, where each recombined lure or target could be preceded by 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 different exemplars of the same relation. RTs and false alarms increased linearly with the number of different previously seen relationally similar pairs. Moreover, more typical exemplars of a given relation lead to a stronger RLE. Finally, hits for intact pairs also rose with the number of previously studied different relational instances. These results suggest that semantic relations exist as independent representations in LTM and that during associative recognition these representations can be a spurious source of familiarity. We discuss the implications of the RLE for current models of semantic and episodic memory, unitization in associative recognition, analogical reasoning and retrieval, as well as constructive memory research. (PsycINFO Database Record
If relational priming is responsible for unintentional analogical reasoning, as has been suggested, it too should occur unintentionally. However, results from previous studies are inconclusive -studies that use the sensicality task usually demonstrate unintentional priming, while lexical decision tasks have failed to capture the effect without explicitly instructing participants to note and use the relational similarity in the stimuli. We discuss possible reasons for these contradictory results. Based on this discussion, we aimed to maximize our chances to find an effect by ensuring that the primes and targets elicit the same processing, by using a longer SOA, suitable for the more complex nature of the task, and by ensuring that the stimuli are good exemplars of the relations that hold between them. We present two experiments that obtained unintentional and efficient priming of relations with a lexical decision task. Participants made a lexical decision for a target pair of words more quickly when it was preceded by a similarly related pair of words, compared to an unrelated pair. Participants were not instructed to note and use the relations. Experiment 2 extended those results by showing that the effect is present even when executive working memory resources are occupied by a secondary task. Even though it turned out that the base pairs differed on semantic similarity, co-occurrence and imageability between the two conditions, these differences were not responsible for the effect. Thus, relations can be primed unintentionally and efficiently, even when relational integration is not necessitated by task demands.
We examined whether the processing of semantic relations shows typicality effects similar to those found for the processing of entity concepts. Participants performed four relational processing tasks with the same set of word-pair stimuli: relational exemplar generation; similarity ranking; analogical verification; and a paired-associate learning task. In the similarity ranking task, we gathered separate rankings for relational, role and semantic similarity between word pairs. We found significant correlations at the item level among relational generation frequencies, analogical verification RTs/accuracy and relational luring in associative memory. Relational similarity predicted exemplar generation frequencies, analogical verification RTs/accuracy, and relational luring in associative memory. Role similarity predicted exemplar generation frequency, and analogical verification RTs, but not relational luring. Semantic similarity did not predict any of the tasks, after controlling for the other two factors. Contrary to current theories which posit that semantic similarity is more important for retrieving relevant analogues, and that analogical mapping is based on role-filler bindings, relational similarity was the strongest predictor across all tasks. These results suggest that just like entity concepts, semantic relations have an internal structure that gives rise to typicality effects across a variety of tasks, which could provide constraints for testing competing theories of relational representation.
Previous research has revealed that memory-based processes are one of the most consistent differences between a novice and a chess expert. The current study used a priming task in 57 adults to investigate whether priming improves the accuracy in finding the best candidate move for a given chess configuration. The stimuli were theme-based chess configurations that served as the prime and target during the procedure. Results indicated for experts that accurate processing of a prime's theme in a congruent trial results in a response priming effect, that is, more correct answers and a decrease in response time. The theoretical implications along with the possible applications of the results are discussed.
The Bulgarian adaptation of the “hope”, “boredom” and “hopelessness” scales of the Achievement emotions questionnaire (AEQ) was accomplished within a representative sample of 800 students. The Confirmatory and Exploratory analyses revealed that the 3 factor model with the three discrete emotions (hope, boredom, and hopelessness), standing for each of the individual factors, had an adequate fit. The reliability of the adapted scales is good (,80 McDonald’s omega ,90). The validity of the instrument assessed with the between-scale correlations of the adapted scale (positive correlation between the same emotional valence and negative correlation between the different emotional valence scales) and the correlations between the adapted scales and the subject grade, GPA, and state exam grades of 7th graders are theoretically and empirically consistent. The same results for the reliability, validity, and internal structure of the adapted scale were confirmed in a subsequent study with an independent sample of 255 respondents.
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