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DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2018) McMaster University (Psychology) TITLE: The Repetition Decrement Effect: A Direct Measure of Encoding Costs Attributable to Prior Experience AUTHOR: Robert Nathan Collins, B.Sc. (hons.) (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Master of Applied Social Psychology (Memorial University of Newfoundland) SUPERVISOR: Professor Bruce Milliken NUMBER OF PAGES: xviii, 195 / The brain is the single most expensive organ in the human body (Berg, Tymoczko, & Stryer, 2002). Given that energy is scarce, evolutionary pressures ought to promote the development of cognitive systems that efficiently attend to and learn our environment (Christie & Schrater, 2015). One way of achieving efficiency involves reducing the amount of resources we devote to information that is already well-learned. Although the idea that attention is biased against redundancy is well supported (Posner & Cohen, 1984; Tipper, 1985), evidence for a similar bias in learning and memory is less clear. The classic spacing effect (Ebbinghaus, 1885) does imply that immediate repetitions triggers ‘deficient processing’ and poor memory relative to spaced repetitions (Hintzman, 1976). However, the link between the spacing effect and deficient processing relies on indirect inference. In this thesis, I propose that the repetition decrement effect (Rosner, López-Benítez, D’Angelo, Thomson, & Milliken, 2018) is a direct measure of deficient processing. The repetition decrement effect is a recognition memory deficit for words presented twice at study relative to words presented only once. In this thesis, this effect occurred when: (1) the first presentation of two identical words was poorly processed, and (2) the second presentation of two identical words followed immediately after the first. When repetitions were spaced, repetition always improved recognition. The interaction between repetition and spacing provides evidence that the repetition decrement effect is driven by the same ‘deficient processing’ mechanism that underlies the spacing effect. An instance model of memory (based on Minerva-AL; Jamieson, Crump, and Hannah, 2012) that mathematically formalises this deficient processing mechanism successfully predicted both the repetition decrement and spacing effects. The repetition decrement effect represents the strongest evidence to date that, like attention, learning mechanisms are mediated by an adaptive system that biases against the processing of redundant information. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The brain is the single most energy demanding organ in the human body. Consequently, evolution ought to have produce adaptations that minimise redundant brain activity. One way to minimise redundant brain activity is to avoid re-learning what has already been learned. Counter-intuitively, this idea implies that we learn more when we know less and learn less when we know more. The present thesis focuses on a phenomenon I call the repetition decrement effect – poor memory for a word studied twice relative to a word studied once. This effect occurred when: (1) the first presentation of the word was ignored, and (2) the repetition of the word was immediate. These characteristics link the repetition decrement effect to the classic spacing effect and support the theory that our brain attempts to minimise energy expenditure related to the learning of redundant information.

The ASTM C457 test has long been a standard used to obtain the air void parameters of concrete materials. These air void parameters provide valuable information that has been linked to the performance of concrete under conditions such as freezing and thawing cycles. The standard test procedure involves linearly traversing a cut and polished section of a concrete specimen while a technician observes it under a microscope. Chord lengths of material constituents that the technician observes along the linear traverse are recorded and later used to calculate air void parameters statistically. This procedure is long and tedious, which makes it susceptible to human error due to operator fatigue. This study proposes and implements a new test method for evaluating concrete air void parameters using an image analysis method. A polishing procedure along with a differential interference contrast microscope are used to obtain high contrast images of material constituents, which provide raw data for the image analysis method. Because of the high contrast that can be obtained, cement paste, air voids in the cement paste, and aggregate materials in the concrete can be distinguished from one another based on these images. An image analysis program has been written for this study which linearly traverses these images and records the chord lengths of material constituents in a similar way to the standard ASTM C457 test. The chord length data must be processed further, however, because features in the images can be truncated by the edge of the image. Correction calculations for this problem are implemented in the image analysis algorithm. Two specimens which have been previously tested using the standard ASTM C457 method by the Virginia Transportation Research Council, (VTRC), are used in this study. The air void parameters obtained using the new test are compared directly with the results obtained by VTRC for the two specimens. Statistical comparisons indicate that the results of the new test are indeed significant, showing the potential it has for practical implementation. There are drawbacks to the test including a long polishing procedure, but this process can be automated. The new test appears to have excellent potential for practical application, but it should be emphasized that the test has only been implemented using materials in two concrete specimens. Further study on a variety of other concrete materials would be required for implementation in a standard procedure. / Master of Science

O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar a eficácia de um desenho em campo e o quanto este pode facilitar a implantação, avaliação e manutenção dos experimentos, principalmente se estes necessitam de uma grande área para a instalação. O delineamento sistemático é aplicado em áreas, tais como, horticultura, solo, irrigação e vem sendo abordado nas pesquisas florestais que se preocupam em oferecer respostas aos gradientes de espaçamentos que uma espécie apresenta em campo. O trabalho, mostra uma revisão bibliográfica de vários estudos realizados com delineamento sistemático em uma gama de aplicações em distintas áreas, revelando suas dificuldades, vantagens e desvantagens sobre os chamados delineamentos clássicos. Os desenhos em campo podem seguir dois diferentes tipos de delineamentos sistemáticos, em \"leque\" ou linhas paralelas. Para cada um existem regras que devem ser seguidas para a instalação dos experimentos em campo. Com o objetivo de retratar o comportamento da espécie Eucalypus dunni, submetida a diferentes tratamentos, sendo estes os espaçamentos entre as plantas, foi constatada a vantagem em empregar o delineamento sistemático, que reduziu a área utilizada e os custos de produção, melhorando a avaliação e a sobrevivência das espécies. Esse estudo possibilitou identificar o espaçamento ideal para a instalação desta espécie em campo, por meio da análise de regressão. / The objective of the present work is to analyze the effectiveness of a drawing in the field and how much it can facilitate the implantation, evaluation and maintenance of the experiments, especially if they require a large area for the installation. The systematic design is applied in areas such as horticulture, soil, irrigation and has been approached in the forest researches that are concerned with providing answers to the gradients of spacing that a species presents in the field. This work presents a bibliographical review of several studies carried out with systematic design in a range of applications in different areas, revealing their difficulties, advantages and disadvantages on the so - called classic designs. Field designs can follow two different types of systematic, fan-like or parallel lines. For each one there are rules that must be followed for the installation of field experiments. With the aim of portraying the behavior of the species Eucalypus dunni, submitted to different treatments, these being the spacings between plants, it was observed the advantage of using the systematic design, which reduced the area used and the production costs, improving the evaluation and survival of the species. This study made it possible to identify the ideal spacing for the installation of this species in the field, through regression analysis.

In a distributed learning strategy, study time is spread across multiple study sessions, without increasing total study time. The benefits of distributed practice, also known as spaced practice, on learning of rote-memory tasks (e.g., spelling, addition, and cued-recall of word pairs) are well known. However, few researchers have looked at the effects of distributed practice on the learning of abstract materials (e.g., physics problems, logical deductions, and algebra). We examined the effects of distributed practice on learning the abstract task of matrix multiplication. In Experiment 1, we taught participants matrix multiplication in either a massed (i.e., 0-day interstudy gap), or distributed (i.e., 7-day interstudy gap) format and tested students at 2 or 21 days after completion of the last study session. Results showed no significant differences between the massed and spaced groups. However, when only those participants scoring 80% or greater on study session one were included in the analyses, a benefit of spacing was seen at the 21-day retention interval. Although not statistically significant, this leads us to believe that spacing does have benefits for abstract learning when the task is mastered initially. Experiment 2 looked at overlearning as another learning strategy. In overlearning, all study takes place in one session, but participants continue to study after mastery of material has been achieved. It is commonly accepted that overlearning is a beneficial strategy, but it is unknown whether the benefits are worth the time invested. We assessed the effects of two levels of massed practice to gauge the benefits of overlearning on long-term retention. Participants completed either 2 or 8 matrix multiplication problems (i.e., low or high massing, respectively) and were tested 1 or 4 weeks after the study session. Results showed a benefit of high massing when analyses included participants who mastered the material (i.e., scored over 50%) during the study session. However, this higher degree of learning was not particularly efficient, because this latter result suggests that overlearning may not be worth the time invested.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 39 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: In a distributed learning strategy, study time is spread across multiple study sessions, without increasing total study time. The benefits of distributed practice, also known as spaced practice, on learning of rote-memory tasks (e.g., spelling, addition, and cued-recall of word pairs) are well known. However, few researchers have looked at the effects of distributed practice on the learning of abstract materials (e.g., physics problems, logical deductions, and algebra). We examined the effects of distributed practice on learning the abstract task of matrix multiplication. In Experiment 1, we taught participants matrix multiplication in either a massed (i.e., 0-day interstudy gap), or distributed (i.e., 7-day interstudy gap) format and tested students at 2 or 21 days after completion of the last study session. Results showed no significant differences between the massed and spaced groups. / ABSTRACT: However, when only those participants scoring 80% or greater on study session one were included in the analyses, a benefit of spacing was seen at the 21-day retention interval. Although not statistically significant, this leads us to believe that spacing does have benefits for abstract learning when the task is mastered initially. Experiment 2 looked at overlearning as another learning strategy. In overlearning, all study takes place in one session, but participants continue to study after mastery of material has been achieved. It is commonly accepted that overlearning is a beneficial strategy, but it is unknown whether the benefits are worth the time invested. We assessed the effects of two levels of massed practice to gauge the benefits of overlearning on long-term retention. Participants completed either 2 or 8 matrix multiplication problems (i.e., low or high massing, respectively) and were tested 1 or 4 weeks after the study session. / ABSTRACT: Results showed a benefit of high massing when analyses included participants who mastered the material (i.e., scored over 50%) during the study session. However, this higher degree of learning was not particularly efficient, because this latter result suggests that overlearning may not be worth the time invested. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar a eficácia de um desenho em campo e o quanto este pode facilitar a implantação, avaliação e manutenção dos experimentos, principalmente se estes necessitam de uma grande área para a instalação. O delineamento sistemático é aplicado em áreas, tais como, horticultura, solo, irrigação e vem sendo abordado nas pesquisas florestais que se preocupam em oferecer respostas aos gradientes de espaçamentos que uma espécie apresenta em campo. O trabalho, mostra uma revisão bibliográfica de vários estudos realizados com delineamento sistemático em uma gama de aplicações em distintas áreas, revelando suas dificuldades, vantagens e desvantagens sobre os chamados delineamentos clássicos. Os desenhos em campo podem seguir dois diferentes tipos de delineamentos sistemáticos, em \"leque\" ou linhas paralelas. Para cada um existem regras que devem ser seguidas para a instalação dos experimentos em campo. Com o objetivo de retratar o comportamento da espécie Eucalypus dunni, submetida a diferentes tratamentos, sendo estes os espaçamentos entre as plantas, foi constatada a vantagem em empregar o delineamento sistemático, que reduziu a área utilizada e os custos de produção, melhorando a avaliação e a sobrevivência das espécies. Esse estudo possibilitou identificar o espaçamento ideal para a instalação desta espécie em campo, por meio da análise de regressão. / The objective of the present work is to analyze the effectiveness of a drawing in the field and how much it can facilitate the implantation, evaluation and maintenance of the experiments, especially if they require a large area for the installation. The systematic design is applied in areas such as horticulture, soil, irrigation and has been approached in the forest researches that are concerned with providing answers to the gradients of spacing that a species presents in the field. This work presents a bibliographical review of several studies carried out with systematic design in a range of applications in different areas, revealing their difficulties, advantages and disadvantages on the so - called classic designs. Field designs can follow two different types of systematic, fan-like or parallel lines. For each one there are rules that must be followed for the installation of field experiments. With the aim of portraying the behavior of the species Eucalypus dunni, submitted to different treatments, these being the spacings between plants, it was observed the advantage of using the systematic design, which reduced the area used and the production costs, improving the evaluation and survival of the species. This study made it possible to identify the ideal spacing for the installation of this species in the field, through regression analysis.

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