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Biomedical subjects

J M Rybash

Publications and source records attributed to J M Rybash.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Episodic and semantic contributions to older adults' autobiographical recall.

The authors examined episodic and semantic contributions to 2 salient features of older adults' autobiographical recall: the reminiscence bump and the retention effect. Forty well-educated and healthy older men (mean age = 72.5 years; SD = 1.1) recalled personal memories in response to a series of cue words. They also categorized each memory as something they remembered from the past (R response) or they knew had happened in the past (K response) and indicated their ages when each memory occurred. The authors assumed that R and K responses reflected the operation of the episodic and semantic memory systems, respectively. Results showed a reminiscence bump and a retention effect for both R and K responses. The authors discuss the implications of this finding concerning the purported bases of the reminiscence bump and the retention effect as well as the notion that aging is more likely to effect episodic memory than semantic memory.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Psychometric and psychodynamic correlates of first memories in younger and older adults.

We conducted two studies that identified some of the psychometric and psychodynamic correlates of the first memories of younger and older adults. Collectively, these studies revealed that: (a) performance on the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) vocabulary and digit-span backwards tasks was negatively related to the age of younger and older adults' first memories, (b) performance on the death preparation subscale of the Reminiscence Function Scale was inversely related to age of older adults' first memories, but positively related to the age of younger adults' first memories, and (c) the use of internalizing defenses as measured by the Defense Mechanism Inventory was predictive of the age of younger, but not older, adults' first memories. The implications of these data for theories of infantile amnesia and life review are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Hemispheric specialization for categorical and coordinate spatial representations: a reappraisal.

The purpose of the present study was to examine Kosslyn's (1987) claim that the left hemisphere (LH) is specialized for the computation of categorical spatial representations and that the right hemisphere (RH) is specialized for the computation of coordinate spatial representations. Categorical representations involve making judgements about the relative position of the components of a visual stimulus (e.g., whether one component is above/below another). Coordinate representations involve calibrating absolute distances between the components of a visual stimulus (e.g., whether one component is within 5 mm of another). Thirty-two male and 32 female undergraduates were administered two versions of a categorical or a coordinate task over three blocks of 36 trials. Within each block, items were presented to the right visual field-left hemisphere (RVF-LH), the left visual field-right hemisphere (LVF-RH), or a centralized position. Overall, results were more supportive of Kosslyn's assertions concerning the role played by the RH in the computation of spatial representations. Specifically, subjects displayed an LVF-RH advantage when performing both versions of the coordinate task. The LVF-RH advantage on the coordinate task, however, was confirmed to the first block of trials. Finally, it was found that males were more likely than females to display faster reaction times (RTs) on coordinate tasks, slower RTs on categorical tasks, and an LVF-RH advantage in computing coordinate tasks.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Age and visual field differences in computing visual-spatial relations.

Age and brain hemispheric differences in visual-spatial performance were investigated using 2 versions of categorical and coordinate (metric) spatial relations tasks. Thirty-two young adults (M = 19.2 years) and 32 older adults (M = 68.8 years) participated. An overall age-related decrement in computing visual-spatial relations was obtained for lateralized presentations and when items were presented centrally. In contrast to some previous findings, there was no evidence to suggest differential aging of the right hemisphere in computing visual-spatial relations.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Effects of a memory aid of the three types of conservation in institutionalized retarded children.

Qualitative identity, quantitative identity, and equivalence conservation were assessed in 60 retarded boys and girls in three groups (MAS 5.4,6.3, and 7.5)9 Half of the Ss were provided a memory aid while the other half were not. The memory aid did not facilitate conservation on any of the tasks. The order of task difficulty found was qualitative identity, quantitative identity, and equivalence conservation. These data were discussed in terms of memory deficits and factors contributing to conservation and M.A.

Audiovisual Aids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Source monitoring and false recollection: a life span developmental perspective.

In a variation of Deese's (1959, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 17-22) list-learning paradigm, 32 first-graders, 32 younger adults, and 24 older adults self-generated words that were semantically related to study items prior to recall. This manipulation increased false recollection for children and older adults, but not for younger adults. These data suggest that source-monitoring deficits underlie children's and older adults' illusory memories within the list-learning format. The differential roles played by source monitoring versus declarative memory in the production of false memories are discussed from a life span developmental perspective.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Responses to moral dilemmas involving self versus others.

Forty older adults were administered the standard version (i.e. Other-orientation) of Rest et al.'s Defining Issues Test (DIT) and a modified version (i.e., Self-orientation) of the same instrument on two separate occasions. Contrary to the results of previous studies with children and young adults, the self/other manipulation in the present study failed to influence significantly older adults' moral judgments. The role of cognitive/perspective-taking and personal/affective factors in the moral reasoning abilities of the elderly, as well as those of children and young adults, are discussed.

Aged↗