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Biomedical subjects

F M Rabinowitz

Publications and source records attributed to F M Rabinowitz.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Individual differences in working memory and reasoning-remembering relationships in solving class-inclusion problems.

In the present experiment, we evaluated the effects of individual differences in reading span and variation in memory demands on class-inclusion performance. One hundred twenty college students whose reading spans ranged from low to medium to high (as indexed by a computerized version of the Daneman and Carpenter [1980] reading-span task) solved 48 class-inclusion problems. Half of the subjects had the solution information available when the problems were presented; the other half performed a detection task between solution information and problem presentation. The results from both standard statistical analyses and from a mathematical model indicated that differences in reading span and memory load had predictable, similar effects. Specifically, the sophistication of reasoning strategies declined when memory demands increased or when reading spans decreased. Surprisingly, these effects were primarily additive. The results were interpreted in terms of global resource models and findings from the developmental literature.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1996

Reasoning from memory: a lifespan inquiry into the necessity of remembering when reasoning about class inclusion.

In the current experiment, we evaluated the relationship between reasoning and remembering across the lifespan (10-, 13-, 15-, 23-, and 67-year-olds) using color and number class-inclusion tasks. Subjects made judgments when memory load or information load was either high or low. Reading latency, choice latency, and choice accuracy data were collected and analyzed using formal models that partitioned memory and reasoning as well as type of reasoning strategy. The results showed that: (1) study skills, as indexed by reading latency, were sophisticated across the lifespan; (2) the difference between color and number choice latencies increased with age; (3) reasonably consistent effects were obtained as a function of increasing memory load, with the quality of both reasoning and remembering being adversely affected; (4) different effects were obtained at each age as a function of increasing information load; and (5) the major developmental trend across the lifespan was a tradeoff between class-inclusion and subclass-subclass forms of reasoning. A number of extant theoretical approaches were discussed, none of which were able to account for variations in class-inclusion performance across the lifespan. What was clear, however, was that memory-reasoning dependencies must be incorporated into any comprehensive theory of cognitive development across the lifespan.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Development of the middle concept.

Children's use of the middle concept was assessed in two developmental studies. In Experiment 1, children in kindergarten through Grade 5 were given middle-size pretraining followed by the presentation of sets of three stimuli representing eight novel dimensions. There was a marked improvement in the mastery of the middle concept across elementary school grades. Asking the child to point to the middle "dimension label" (e.g., middle oval) facilitated performance when compared to asking the child to point to the middle thing. In Experiment 2, second- through fifth-grade children were pretrained to choose the middle item associated with a single set of three stimuli, two sets of three stimuli representing the same dimension, or two sets of three stimuli with each set representing a different dimension. Transfer to six novel test dimensions was evaluated. Pretraining with two rather than one stimulus set transferred to the novel test dimensions. The results were related to induction and transposition theories and to issues concerning implicit and explicit learning.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Dynamic modeling, chaos, and cognitive development.

We provide an introduction to the essential constructs involved in dynamic modeling. These constructs are then related to issues in psychological development. In particular, we discuss stages, states, sequences, and pure transition models as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal experimental designs. We conclude that transition is a key invariance in development and that single subject, longitudinal designs are essential in studying the dynamics of ontogeny.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Reasoning in middle childhood: a dynamic model of performance on transitivity tasks.

An overview of the models and data relevant to children's transitive reasoning is provided. We propose a new conceptual framework, one which is embedded in a dynamic model that accounts for children's failures to reason transitively. It is assumed that rather than reasoning in a transitive manner, children often encode both relational and absolute stimulus information and use stimulus generalization as a transfer mechanism. The model is applied to new and extant data. The model provides an adequate and parsimonious account of children's failures on these tasks. We conclude that progress in understanding children's reasoning is dependent on operationalizing constructs in formal models so that assumptions can be evaluated and rejected.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1993

On measuring (in)dependence of cognitive processes.

The authors provide a critical evaluation of the use of stochastic independence in psychological research. Specifically, they consider problems of confirming the null hypothesis, power of the statistical test, Simpson's paradox, and between-subjects and within-subject correlations. These problems are discussed in the context of research on theories of memory and cognitive development and illustrated with data on reasoning-remembering relationships. The authors conclude that demonstrations of response independence do not, by themselves, provide sufficient grounds for deciding whether a single process or multiple processes are necessary to account for performance. Instead, they argue that formal models are necessary if findings of (in)dependence are to be interpreted meaningfully in terms of underlying theoretical processes.

Attention↗
PubMed1981

An investigation of factors contributing to the apparent overselective responding of mentally retarded children.

2 experiments are described in which the performances of younger MA and older MA retarded children are compared. The experiments were conducted in an attempt to explain why younger MA children appear to be overselective on discrimination tasks containing relevant redundant cues. In experiment 1, the younger MA children were more likely than the older MA children to learn the discrimination on a configurational basis. In experiment 2, the children experienced either a simultaneous or a successive version of the relevant redundant-cue problem. Only the older MA group of children who were presented with the simultaneous problem demonstrated learning of the individual relevant dimensions. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that younger MA children appear to be overselective because they tend to solve discriminations on a configurational, rather than on a dimensional, basis. It does not seem prudent to relate overselectivity to limited breadth of attention.

Adolescent↗