As auditory displays become more common it is increasingly important to understand the perception of complex and dynamic auditory stimuli and how the information contained in the various dimensions of these stimuli influences performance. In the present study listeners made keypress responses to dynamic sound stimuli which started high or low in pitch and became higher or lower in pitch during each trial. The results showed that pitch and pitch change interacted in an asymmetrical manner, with pitch information intruding more on judgments of pitch change than vice versa. Neither pitch nor pitch change interacted with vertically arranged responses to produce the strong spatial S-R compatibility effects that were expected based on previous research and on descriptions of pitch in everyday language. Analytic versus holistic listening strategies or the physical location of the sounds may affect interactions of the stimuli and responses in this type of selective listening task.

Experiments reported here examined the effects of distributing practice during relearning. Specifically, they provide an initial test of the prediction by R. A. Bjork and C. O. Fritz (1994), based on the new theory of disuse (R. A. Bjork & E. L. Bjork, 1992), that spacing practice is not important for relearning. In Experiment 1a, the speed to respond to simple numeric multiplication problems was measured after subjects practiced the problems under three different relearning schedules: (1) A massed condition in which all of the practice on a specific problem occurred consecutively, (2) a spaced condition in which there was a uniform spacing of one intervening problem between each practice on a particular problem, and (3) an expanded condition in which the practice was spaced in an expanded fashion, such that first there were no intervening problems between practices, then there were 4 problems, followed by 8. No significant differences among these three conditions were found. In Experiment 1b, original learning on an analogous task, mental arithmetic involving letters rather than numbers, was performed under the same three learning schedules. A spacing effect was found under the original learning conditions of Experiment 1b. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1a, except that the instructions placed more stress on accuracy in order to avoid problems associated with a speed/accuracy trade-off. As with Experiment 1a, there was no significant effect of condition. The results provide preliminary support for Bjork and Fritz's prediction regarding the distribution of practice during relearning. The findings are encouraging from a practical standpoint and support the notion that level of expertise is an important factor in research on long-term retention.

Telephone conversations between software technical support advisors and their clients were recorded and analyzed. The roles the advisors took in the conversations influenced how much control each conversant had and the kind of contributions they made. When the advisors took the role of solving a problem, they had more control and asked more questions than in other roles. The conversations where the advisors acted as problem solvers were analyzed qualitatively in light of the problem-solving theories such as information processing theory, Gestalt theory, and schema/frame theory. Most technical support problem solving was explainable using Gestalt and frame theory, but some behavior was displayed that was not predicted by these theories. A model describing the prototypical technical support problem-solving case is presented, along with descriptive findings about flexible behavior in non-prototypical cases.

Speech error data and empirical studies indicate that the scope of planning is larger for semantic/syntactic than phonological form representations in speech production. R. Martin and colleagues have demonstrated that some patients show dissociable impairments in the retention of semantic and phonological codes. The effect of these STM deficits on speech production was investigated using phrase and sentence production paradigms which manipulated semantic and phonological factors of the words to be produced. The first four experiments used a phrase production paradigm in which subjects named pairs of pictures and words manipulated for categorical relatedness (Experiments 1 and 2) or frequency (Experiments 3 and 4). The findings suggested that subjects planned both lemmas in these phrases but only the initial lexeme. Planning two lemmas created difficulty (large categorical interference effects) for patients with semantic retention deficits but not for patients with phonological retention deficits, supporting the contention that the semantic retention buffer involved in word span tasks is involved in speech production planning. In Experiment 5, subjects produced sentences having the content words in separate phrases to describe the configuration of two pictures. Control subjects and patients with phonological retention deficits did not show interference from categorically related pictures suggesting that they did not plan the final lemma of the sentence before articulation. ML still showed a large interference effect which reversed to facilitation when the pictures remained on the screen during his response. It was suggested that ML is forced to plan multiple lemmas before the pictures disappear, but when the pictures remain in view he may plan in a phrase-by-phrase fashion. In Experiment 6, ML showed a large benefit in onset latency but not accuracy when he could describe pictures in a sentence compared to phrase format whereas EA showed no such benefit. SJD also showed a benefit in accuracy for sentences compared to phrases, but her errors were qualitatively different than those of ML. The findings suggest that semantic retention is critical for speech planning for constructions requiring that multiple lemmas be planned in advance, while phonological retention is less critical because of the smaller scope of planning at this level.

Computer software is becoming increasingly powerful and complex, but most people only utilize a small fraction of the capabilities of the software that they use to accomplish their daily tasks (Antsey, 1988; Fischer, 1987, 1993; Sutcliffe & Old, 1987). Carroll and Rosson (1987) described this problem as the production paradox. Typical methods of training and help, such as tutorials, manuals, and on-line help, fail to help intermediate-level users overcome this problem (Elkerton & Williges, 1989). The use of proactive, intelligent help systems (e.g., Coaches and Critics) may provide a more effective approach (Selker, 1994). Coach, Critic, and tutorial training were compared to determine which intelligent help design would provide the most effective instruction. Sixty-two users were trained, tested, and evaluated on advanced word processing functions during three sessions to assess the acquisition, retention, and application of efficient methods. The Coach and tutorial groups both improved their performance times and efficiency by the second test. However, the Critic group did not perform as well. These results suggest that providing users with frequent, proactive, context-specific feedback and help may encourage them to learn and utilize more efficient software methods.

Recent research has shown that vision can enhance tactile perception in studies with monkeys, patients, and normal participants. However, relatively few studies have investigated if visual information can systematically increase tactile perception. This study used exposure to a visual-tactile conflict to improve tactile processing in order to determine what experimental manipulations of vision and touch induced sustained visual enhancement of tactile perception across extended time periods. A number of different tactile stimulation paradigms were used in order to determine which method would give the most robust and stable improvement in touch perception. While tactile perception was enhanced after conflict exposure in almost all the tactile tasks, the visual enhancement of touch could not be demonstrated repeatedly on successive blocks for an extended period of time. Therefore, subjects likely adapted to the visual-tactile conflict so that repeated administrations of the conflict did not influence their tactile processing.

The emergence of computer-based interactive learning environments has presented us with many unanswered questions. The current research examined learner control in an interactive learning environment from two perspectives. In Part I, three experiments were conducted to compare simulation-based interactive learning with expository learning in learning statistics. In Experiment 1, interactive learning was compared to textbook-based expository learning. Interactive learning was structured in two different ways so that learners received either directive or nondirective guidance while interacting with the simulation. Compared to expository learning, learner control resulted in slightly improved but much more consistent performance on a knowledge test as well as more positive affect towards learning. In Experiment 2, learner control was compared to simulation-based expository learning. In each learning condition, half of the participants were further asked to predict simulation outcomes during the learning process. Interactive learning resulted in significantly higher response accuracy on the knowledge test than did expository learning. It also improved learners performance on a transfer test for those with medium lower cognitive ability. Making predictions was more beneficial for interactive learning than for expository learning. Experiment 3 examined the effects of interactive learning over time. The expository learning group was yoked with the interactive learning group by passively observing their interaction with the simulation. Participants were tested either immediately after learning or after a one-week delay. Performances of the interactive learning group remained stable over this period of time. However, learner control did not improve learners performance compared to expository learning. Reasons for this finding were discussed. In Part II, two iterations of user testing were conducted to examine user interaction with the Connexions Web-based learning environment. User interaction was considered an integral part of learner control in such a complex environment. Usability information gathered from user testing was used to aid the software development effort. The current research supported the idea that learner control can lead to better learning than expository learning but emphasized the importance of learning structure and potential aptitude-treatment interaction in simulation-based interactive learning. These findings have implications for larger-scale interactive learning environments, such as Web-based learning, as well.

In Experiment 1, homophone and repetition priming were evaluated in 3 implicit memory tests. Homophone priming was comparable in size to repetition priming in the naming task, while reduced, but significant, homophone priming was obtained in the lexical decision and perceptual identification tasks. In Experiment 2, pseudohomophones (e.g., brane) were utilized as the distractor foils at test rather than pronounceable nonwords (e.g., terl). The homophone priming obtained in the lexical decision task in Experiment 1 was eliminated suggesting that phonological priming can be strategic. The role of orthography in homophone priming in the naming task was evaluated in Experiment 3. Homophone priming appears to depend upon the amount of orthographic overlap; orthographically dissimilar homophone pairs (e.g., bomb, balm) exhibited less homophone priming compared to similar pairs (e.g., bell, belle).

Three experiments were conducted adopting the same paradigm used by Potter and Lombardi (1990) with two different types of lure words, 'only semantically related' and 'both semantically and phonologically related'. Stimuli were presented either in rapid serial visual presentation or in auditory presentation. In Experiment 1, word lists preceded sentences whereas word lists followed sentences in Experiment 2. Greater SP than S intrusions were found in both experiments. Intrusions were higher in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1 with only auditory presentation. These findings support the notion of phonological representations in short-term memory for sentences. With more closely controlled factors, the findings of Experiment 1 and 2 were replicated in Experiment 3. Experiment 3, furthermore, showed that encoding phonological information occurs at all position and is retained up to the point of recall.

This study examined how attentional set mitigates attention capture by onsets occurring between known spatial locations. In Experiment 1 response times increased with the number of onsets that occurred. In Experiment 2 and 3 color was used instead of onset as the task relevant feature. Data collected at the keystroke-level showed delayed response times for keystrokes in only certain positions following an onset. Typing patterns were also found to affect the costs generated by the onsets, implying that task strategies mediated when onsets captured attention. Experiment 4 manipulated the cue types in a 2 phase spatial cuing task. Cues of the same type in both phases yielded faster responses, even though the blocked nature of the trials alerted participants to the upcoming cue type in each phase. This suggests that participants were unable to rapidly shift attentional set.