Testing can facilitate forgetting of tested items.

Previous research has shown that taking a test facilitates memory retention on later retesting, although facilitation is stronger when retesting is delayed. On the basis of the finding that testing prevents later forgetting without affecting memory recovery, we investigated immediate effects of taking a test on retrievability of a tested item. In two experiments, forty participants recalled studied items, then performed a retest of the studied items (test condition) and a non-episodic-memory task (distractor condition), and immediately afterward re-recalled the items. The test condition elicited more item losses (i.e. forgetting) than the distractor condition, whereas there were no condition differences in the number of item gains (i.e. remembering) and recall clustering. These results suggest that taking a test on a target item facilitates forgetting of the very same item for a short interval of time, a possible reason for the late appearance of the testing effect.

Justification of Sentencing Decisions: Development of a Ratio-Based Measure Tested on Child Neglect Cases.

Theoretically, people's justification of a sentencing decision involves a hybrid structure comprising retribution, incapacitation, general deterrence, and rehabilitation. In this study, a new ratio-type measure was developed to assess this structure and was tested to detect changes in the weighting of justification according to the content emphasized in a particular crime. Two child neglect scenarios were presented to participants, where they read either a severe-damage scenario (where a single mother's selfish neglect caused her son's death) or a moderate-damage scenario (where a single mother became apathetic due to economic deprivation and caused her child's debilitation). Participants then indicated the proportion of importance they placed on each justification in determining the defendant's punishment, with an overall proportion of 100%, along with responding to the sentence on an 11-point scale. This study involved a two-factor analysis of variance for justification ratios, a t-test for the sentence, and a multiple regression analysis with three demographic variables, the four justifications as independent variables, and the sentence as the dependent variable. The ratio of retribution to rehabilitation was reversed depending on the scenario: in the severe-damage scenario, retribution was weighted highest at 27.0% and rehabilitation was weighted at only 19.0%. By contrast, in the moderate-damage scenario, rehabilitation had the highest weighting of about 26.2%, while retribution was weighted at 21.5%. The sentence was more severe in the severe-damage scenario. Multiple regression analysis suggested that in the severe-damage scenario, most participants failed to deviate from choosing retribution by default and decided on heavier sentences, while some who considered rehabilitation and incapacitation opted for lighter sentences. The present measure succeeded in detecting changes in the weighting of justification, which can be difficult to detect with common Likert Scales. In addition, it was found that not only retribution but utilitarian justification was considered in the sentencing decisions of serious cases.

The Oscillating Potential Model of Visually Induced Vection.

Visually induced illusions of self-motion are often referred to as vection. This article developed and tested a model of responding to visually induced vection. We first constructed a mathematical model based on well-documented characteristics of vection and human behavioral responses to this illusion. We then conducted 10,000 virtual trial simulations using this Oscillating Potential Vection Model (OPVM). OPVM was used to generate simulated vection onset, duration, and magnitude responses for each of these trials. Finally, we compared the properties of OPVM's simulated vection responses with real responses obtained in seven different laboratory-based vection experiments. The OPVM output was found to compare favorably with the empirically obtained vection data.

Dissociated roles of the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus in audiovisual processing: top-down and bottom-up mismatch detection.

Visual inputs can distort auditory perception, and accurate auditory processing requires the ability to detect and ignore visual input that is simultaneous and incongruent with auditory information. However, the neural basis of this auditory selection from audiovisual information is unknown, whereas integration process of audiovisual inputs is intensively researched. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and superior temporal sulcus (STS) are involved in top-down and bottom-up processing, respectively, of target auditory information from audiovisual inputs. We recorded high gamma activity (HGA), which is associated with neuronal firing in local brain regions, using electrocorticography while patients with epilepsy judged the syllable spoken by a voice while looking at a voice-congruent or -incongruent lip movement from the speaker. The STS exhibited stronger HGA if the patient was presented with information of large audiovisual incongruence than of small incongruence, especially if the auditory information was correctly identified. On the other hand, the IFG exhibited stronger HGA in trials with small audiovisual incongruence when patients correctly perceived the auditory information than when patients incorrectly perceived the auditory information due to the mismatched visual information. These results indicate that the IFG and STS have dissociated roles in selective auditory processing, and suggest that the neural basis of selective auditory processing changes dynamically in accordance with the degree of incongruity between auditory and visual information.

Resource-independent negative effects of foreign language on analogical problem solving.

It has been shown that analogical problem solving is more difficult when a target problem is written in a foreign language than in one's native language. Possible resource-independence of this negative effect of a foreign language was investigated. After reading an analog or a filler story, participants solved a target problem written in their native or a foreign language. Those who read the problem in their native language performed a concurrent task to reduce their available processing resources. Nevertheless, they were better able to solve it than those who read the problem in a foreign language after reading the analog. This indicates that reading the problem in a foreign language decreases analogical problem-solving ability in a resource-independent manner.

How do young children judge intentions of an agent affecting a patient? Outcome-based judgment and positivity bias.

Using situations where an agent can affect a patient, previous studies have examined children's judgment of the intention of the patient. Because the intention of the agent plays an important role in determining the response to that agent, this study examined children's judgment of the agent's intention. In situations where the agent potentially affected the patient, young children (N = 56, Mage = 5 - years 7 months in Experiment 1; N = 50, Mage = 5 years 8 months in Experiment 2) and adults (N = 26, Mage = 21 years 1 month in the supplementary experiment) judged whether or not the agent affected the patient intentionally (e.g., intentionally destroyed the patient's block castle). The results indicated that children, but not adults, judged the agent's intention based on outcome (e.g., whether or not the block castle was destroyed). Moreover, children, but not adults, judged the agent's intention favorably (e.g., the agent did not intend to destroy the castle), indicating the presence of positivity bias. Implications of positivity bias in intention judgment for social adjustment and trait inference are discussed.