Functional cerebral distance and the effect of emotional music on spatial rotation scores in undergraduate women and men.

The influence of listening to music on subsequent spatial rotation scores has a controversial history. The effect is unreliable, seeming to depend on several as yet unexplored factors. Using a large sample (167 women, 160 men; M age = 18.9 yr.), two related variables were investigated: participants' sex and the emotion conveyed by the music. Participants listened to 90 sec. of music that portrayed emotions of approach (happiness), or withdrawal (anger), or heard no music at all. They then performed a two-dimensional spatial rotation task. No significant difference was found in spatial rotation scores between groups exposed to music and those who were not. However, a significant interaction was found based on the sex of the participants and the emotion portrayed in the music they heard. Women's scores increased (relative to a no-music condition) only after hearing withdrawal-based music, while men's scores increased only after listening to the approach-based music. These changes were explained using the theory of functional cerebral distance.

The generation effect: a meta-analytic review.

The generation effect refers to the finding that subjects who generate information (e.g., produce synonyms) remember the information better than they do material that they simply read. Meta-analytic techniques were used to summarize 445 effect sizes over 86 studies, thereby assessing the magnitude and 11 potential moderators of the generation effect. The size of the generation effect across the 86 studies was .40--a benefit of almost half a standard deviation of generation over reading. The variability of the effect size due to moderator type was substantial, and we attempted to use this information to clarify several theories that have been proposed to explain the generation effect.

Age differences in context-cue forgetting.

Episodic or context dependent memory is often studied as a function of the context cues in immediate retrieval of target information. Little research has been done on how the relationship of context cues to target retrieval changes over time, and none with older adult subjects. The current research investigated how the influence of context on accuracy of memory changes over time, and age-related differences in those influences. Using immediate, 2- and 7-day retention intervals, our results indicate that, while context initially supports the retrieval of information, assistance is temporary and fades before the memory for the target information. These changes in context effects were not different for younger and older adult groups.