Charles Weaver
Baylor University, Psychology and Neuroscience, Faculty Member
While subjects were reading a description of the geographic layout ofa town, they were imtructed to draw a map of the town. Another group of subjects merely read the description without drawing a map. The latter group of subjects produced... more
While subjects were reading a description of the geographic layout ofa town, they were imtructed to draw a map of the town. Another group of subjects merely read the description without drawing a map. The latter group of subjects produced recall protocols which were primarily reproductive, and showed the typical recall superiority ofstructurally superordinate propositions in the text. However, these subjects performed very poorly when they were asked to verify inference Statements about locations in the town. Subjects who drew a map while reading, on the other hand, were much better at verifying locational inferences, but their recall became more reconstructive. When they repeated propositions from the text, they did not show the levels effect typical for reproductive recall, indicating that even that portion of their recall may have been reconstructive. The results were discussed in terms of different mental representations of the text in memory: the propositional textbase which Supports reproductive recall, and the Situation model on which reconstructions and inferences are based.
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It is proposed that algebra word problems can be better understood by analyzing the schema underlying each problem. An analysis of algebra word problems was developed from the work of Kintsch and Greeno (1985) in the domain of word... more
It is proposed that algebra word problems can be better understood by analyzing the schema underlying each problem. An analysis of algebra word problems was developed from the work of Kintsch and Greeno (1985) in the domain of word arithmetic problems. Several experiments were conducted to determine the psychological plausibility of this model. Subjects were asked to provide similarity ratings for 8 problems, presented in pairs (28 pairs overall). The problem pairs were either identical in their conceptual structure (i.e., same underlying schema), identical in their resulting equations, identical in both, or neither. Naive subjects rated problem pairs which shared the same schematic structure as more similar than all other pairs, including problems which shared only the same equation. In Experiment 2 subjects were given a brief (25 minute) tutorial in either a traditional method or in a method developed to help students see schematic similarity across problems, then asked to perform the same rating task of Experiment 1. Subjects who were tutored in the traditional method showed similar performance as the subjects in Experiment 1. However, subjects who were tutored in the alternative method rated stmcturally identical problem even more similar than before. The findings support the model proposed. Furthermore, it is suggested that structural-mapping models of word algebra problems would be more successful is the mapping took place at these deeper, schematic levels. Footnotes This research was supported by NSF Grant BNS-830975 to Walter Kintsch.
Using a paradigm established by Perrig and Kintsch (1985), memory for locative and non-locative texts was studied. It was found that if a situation model could easily be formed from the texts, subjects tended to use this model in... more
Using a paradigm established by Perrig and Kintsch (1985), memory for locative and non-locative texts was studied. It was found that if a situation model could easily be formed from the texts, subjects tended to use this model in verifying inferences about the relative locations of objects mentioned in the text. Furthermore, their recalls of the overall text tended somewhat toward a memory reconstruction from this situation model. If, however, the text were changed slightly, so that situation model formation was more difficult, subjects would rely on their textbase memory for making the inferences, and textual factors were more important. Recalls in this case were more reproductive than reconstructive. This was taken as support for the van Dijk and Kintsch (1983) model of discourse comprehension.
Three experiments investigated students' ability to classify and solve similar algebra word problems. Four groups of problems were used, varying along 2 dimensions: problem equation type (2 types) and problem structure type (2 types).... more
Three experiments investigated students' ability to classify and solve similar algebra word problems. Four groups of problems were used, varying along 2 dimensions: problem equation type (2 types) and problem structure type (2 types). Students were presented problem pairs and asked to rate the potential usefulness of Problem 1 in solving Problem 2. With no instruction, students rated problems sharing conceptual structure as being more helpful, regardless of equation type. Pairs with similar equations did not show this effect (Experiment 1). This effect was enhanced by brief instruction, which illustrated structural similarities (Experiment 3)
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Hypnotizability influences the development of false memories. In Experiment 1, participants heard a positive or negative suggestion regarding hypnosis and then listened to 8 Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm lists in a... more
Hypnotizability influences the development of false memories. In Experiment 1, participants heard a positive or negative suggestion regarding hypnosis and then listened to 8 Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm lists in a hypnotic state. Neither hypnosis nor prehypnotic suggestion affected memory. Highly hypnotizable participants were more accurate in recall and recognition. In Experiment 2, suggestions were delivered in the form of feedback. Participants heard a positive or negative suggestion about their performance prior to either the encoding or retrieval of 8 DRM lists. Neither accurate nor false memories were affected by the suggestion. Highly hypnotizable individuals recognized fewer critical lures if they received a negative suggestion about their performance. These results highlight the unusual role of hypnotizability in the creation of false memories.
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Readability refers to the ease with which a passage can be understood, often expressed numerically. Current reading research emphasizes the interaction between the text and the reader. Readability formulas, by contrast, assume readability... more
Readability refers to the ease with which a passage can be understood, often expressed numerically. Current reading research emphasizes the interaction between the text and the reader. Readability formulas, by contrast, assume readability to be inherent in the text alone. Readability formulas provide an objective assessment of difficulty, usually expressed in ‘grade-level’ equivalents. These formulas generally use some combination of sentence length, word length, word frequency, and paragraph length. When used ‘honestly’, to examine previously written texts, readability formulas may be of some limited use. However, revisions specifically designed to improve readability scores do not necessarily improve comprehension. Readability formulas may provide some basis for comparing the difficulty of different texts, but they should be interpreted with caution.
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... Tom Nelson was right when he said that the d-JOL effect would continue to be studied because there is a lot of variance to be explained. ... Winningham ... 168 Charles A. Wea er III, J. Trent Terrell, Ke in S. Krug, and William L.... more
... Tom Nelson was right when he said that the d-JOL effect would continue to be studied because there is a lot of variance to be explained. ... Winningham ... 168 Charles A. Wea er III, J. Trent Terrell, Ke in S. Krug, and William L. Kelemen et al.(2000) and Weaver and Krug (2004) both ...
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APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...
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Page 1. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 1997, Vol. 23, No. 6, 1394-1409 Copyright 1997 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0278-7393/97/$3.00 Enhanced Metamemory at Delays: ...
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Page 1. COGNITION AND EMOTION, 1992.6 (1). 1-22 Depression, Cognitive Skill, and Metacognitive Skill in Problem Solving Brent D. Slife and Charles A. Weaver, 111 Baylor University, Waco, Texas, U. SA Two experiments ...
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Researchers in the field of text comprehension have traditionally distinguished between two types of text: narratives, which focus on plot, story lines, characters, etc.; and expositions, which direct the reader’s attention to the factual... more
Researchers in the field of text comprehension have traditionally distinguished between two types of text: narratives, which focus on plot, story lines, characters, etc.; and expositions, which direct the reader’s attention to the factual aspects of a text, rather than the story per SE (see Britton and Black, 1985; Weaver and Kintsch, 1991, for a more thorough discussion of the two text types). Over the past two decades, cognitive science has made great strides towards understanding the comprehension process of these two text types (e. g., van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983). However, cognitive science has had relatively little to say on the topic of literary text comprehension. This volume is one of the first major research efforts investigating comprehension of literary texts. At the risk of “giving away the ending” of this story, let me say that Zwaan’s work represents an outstanding first effort and is likely to serve as the inspiration for much additional research into literary comprehension. Aspects OfLitcr-ary Coniprehension is a monograph apparently based on the author’s dissertation, carried out in both the Netherlands and the United States. Zwaan reports a series of experiments in which he applies the Kintsch and van Dijk (1978; van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983) model to comprehension of literary texts. In its earliest and simplest formulation, the Kintsch and van Dijk model (heretofore referred to as KvD) was a cyclical, recursive model, constrained by Working Memory resources, resulting in representation at two levels: a swface level, which encodes the verbatim trace of the passage, and the propositional textbase, which encodes the meaning of the text, but not necessarily the exact wording. As such it can be considered a type of “paraphrase”. Numerous studies have demonstrated that typically surface traces are fleeting, while textbase representations are better remembered over longer periods of time. The 1983 modification to the model recognized that for some texts, readers construct an additional level of representation, what KvD call a “situation model”.’ The situation model represents what the text was about, rather than what was actually said. While textbase representations are relatively static (since they are determined primarily by the text structure), situation models are quite flexible. They can change as a function of a reader’s goals or background knowledge, among other things, and may be represented in non-verbal form. For example, while reading a passage about the layout of a small town a reader might construct a mental map of the town (i. e., Perrig and Kintsch, 1985; Taylor andTversky, 1992; Weaver and Kintsch, 1987). Or, when reading aprogrammer’s manual,
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... Memory and Cognition, 26, 516531. Weaver, CA, III, Terrell, JT, Krug, KS, & Kelemen, WL (2008). ... 155172). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. CHARLES A. WEAVER, III, AMANDA E. HOLMES and JAMIE T. HARRINGTON Baylor University, USA ...
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Reading is the process by which individuals decode a written language. Readers must translate from a written language (an ‘orthography’) to the underlying sound-based components (the ‘phonology’). Learning to read involves knowledge of... more
Reading is the process by which individuals decode a written language. Readers must translate from a written language (an ‘orthography’) to the underlying sound-based components (the ‘phonology’). Learning to read involves knowledge of the phonetic structure of language, and skilled reading requires hundreds of hours of practice. Beginning readers rely on the process of phonological mediation, the sounding out of letters and words. Skilled readers can access the words directly and phonological mediation plays a smaller role. Two types of dyslexia (acquired and developmental) are discussed, with several possible causes explored.
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Nelson and Dunlosky (1991) found that judgment-of-learning (JOL) accuracy (measured using G) was nearly perfect if the JOL was made several minutes after study (the delayed-JOL effect) However, over time, the distribution of judgments... more
Nelson and Dunlosky (1991) found that judgment-of-learning (JOL) accuracy (measured using G) was nearly perfect if the JOL was made several minutes after study (the delayed-JOL effect) However, over time, the distribution of judgments changed radically When JOLs were made immediately, subjects typically used the middle of the scale, after a delay, more than 50% of judgments were made using the ends of the scale (Dunlosky & Nelson, 1994, Experiment 1) We replicated the delayed-JOL effect and found a similar rating shift Is the delayed-JOL effect an artifact produced by this shift, or does it reflect true metamemory improvement? Monte Carlo simulations allowed us to separate these effects Shifting judgments to ends of the scale did inflate JOL accuracy somewhat The bulk of the delayed-JOL effect, however, resulted from increases in calibration We conclude that the delayed-JOL effect reflects true metamemory improvement.
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Journal of Experimental Psychology: Genera) 1993, Vol. 122, No. 1, 39-^6 Copyright 1993 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0096-3445/93/S3.00 Do You Need a "Flash" to Form a Flashbulb Memory? Charles A. Weaver III... more
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Genera) 1993, Vol. 122, No. 1, 39-^6 Copyright 1993 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0096-3445/93/S3.00 Do You Need a "Flash" to Form a Flashbulb Memory? Charles A. Weaver III On January 16, 1991, students ...
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Abstract Four experiments examined conditioning parameters governing enhanced flavor preferences in rats (i.e., Green & Garcia's, 1971 , “medicine effect”). In Experiments 1–3 rats were concurrently conditioned to avoid flavor A... more
Abstract Four experiments examined conditioning parameters governing enhanced flavor preferences in rats (i.e., Green & Garcia's, 1971 , “medicine effect”). In Experiments 1–3 rats were concurrently conditioned to avoid flavor A and to prefer flavor B after multiple-trial pairings with a toxin. In Experiment 2, rats learned to avoid saccharin and to prefer vinegar when they tasted these flavors 30 and 75 min after being injected with lithium. Concurrent conditioning of two flavors (one aversive, the other preferred) was compared with preference-only conditioning in Experiment 3. Though no differences in acquisition were found, extinction of the conditioned aversion to flavor A accelerated extinction of preference to flavor B. In Experiment 4, conditioned preference was found to retard acquisition of conditioned aversion. Conditioned flavor preferences (1) are reliably and easily produced, (2) once expressed are resistant to extinction, and (3) are most likely described as conditioned inhibition.
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Eyewitness memory is often distorted when misleading information is presented to subjects after encoding. Three experiments explored ways to overcome these misinformation effects. In Experiment 1, subjects viewed slides of a robbery, at a... more
Eyewitness memory is often distorted when misleading information is presented to subjects after encoding. Three experiments explored ways to overcome these misinformation effects. In Experiment 1, subjects viewed slides of a robbery, at a rate of four or seven seconds per slide. Five minutes later subjects were given a recognition test with few (1-3) or numerous (6-13) event cues. Providing numerous retrieval cues improved overall performance, but did not reduce the effects of misinformation. With week-long delays (Experiment 2) numerous retrieval cues did eliminate misinformation effects, but only when subjects viewed slides at the slower rate (seven seconds per slide). Experiment 3 essentially replicated this pattern, using a modified test to eliminate any biasing effects of distractors. Given adequate encoding and numerous retrieval cues, misinformation effects were eliminated, suggesting that under some conditions misinformation makes event memory inaccessible, but not unavailable.
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The transfer-appropriate monitoring (TAM) hypothesis of metamemory predicts that judgment of learning (JOL) accuracy should improve when conditions during JOLs closely match conditions of the memory test. The authors devised 5 types of... more
The transfer-appropriate monitoring (TAM) hypothesis of metamemory predicts that judgment of learning (JOL) accuracy should improve when conditions during JOLs closely match conditions of the memory test. The authors devised 5 types of delayed JOLs for paired associates and varied them along with the type of memory test (cued recall or recognition). If the TAM hypothesis is correct, JOL and test type should interact to influence metamemory. Contrary to TAM, metamemory accuracy did not improve when JOL and test conditions matched but instead tended to vary according to whether the answer was apparent at time of JOL. Memory test scores and JOL magnitude were both greater when the correct target was evident during JOLs. Overall, the results are largely consistent with a monitoring retrieval view of delayed JOLs and do not support TAM as a viable account of JOL accuracy.
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Black Americans who are perceived as more racially phenotypical—that is, who possess more physical traits that are closely associated with their race—are more often associated with racial stereotypes. These stereotypes, including... more
Black Americans who are perceived as more racially phenotypical—that is, who possess more physical traits that are closely associated with their race—are more often associated with racial stereotypes. These stereotypes, including assumptions about criminality, can influence how Black Americans are treated by the legal system. However, it is unclear whether other forms of racial stereotypicality, such as a person’s way of speaking, also activate stereotypes about Black Americans. We investigated the links between speech stereotypicality and racial stereotypes (Experiment 1) and racial phenotype bias (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants listened to audio recordings of Black speakers and rated how stereotypical they found the speaker, the likely race and nationality of the speaker, and indicated which adjectives the average person would likely associate with this speaker. In Experiment 2, participants listened to recordings of weakly or strongly stereotypical Black American sp...
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ABSTRACT argue that the linguistically cued representation of the situation denoted in a text must be viewed as a crucial step for the successful understanding and solving of word problems / suggest that teachers and researchers in... more
ABSTRACT argue that the linguistically cued representation of the situation denoted in a text must be viewed as a crucial step for the successful understanding and solving of word problems / suggest that teachers and researchers in mathematics education should become more aware of characteristics of situational and presentational structures of word problems / suggest further that students would be better helped by focusing attention on characteristics of the episodic situation and problem structure and on how they are presented in the text, rather than on matching linguistic cues or keywords to formal mathematical structues / conclude that the situational structures to be mathematized are a central source of problem difficulty / analysis of the content-related situational structure of a mathematical word problem makes it possible to examine more precisely the impact of linguistic variations, which may be used to represent specific situational structures (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Failing to communicate a message in everyday settings can be a frustrating experience. However, miscommunication can lead to disaster in high-stakes situations. Yet in these contexts, under pressure to perform efficiently, speakers may... more
Failing to communicate a message in everyday settings can be a frustrating experience. However, miscommunication can lead to disaster in high-stakes situations. Yet in these contexts, under pressure to perform efficiently, speakers may also find themselves with limited resources to devote to message clarity. To understand how cognitive constraint affects communication and explore a possible low-cost solution, we investigated a method for moderating ambiguity production in the face of competing attentional demands: taking the perspective of the listener. Over two experiments, speakers labeled images (Experiment 1) or provided instructions (Experiment 2) to listeners in a non-interactive communication task. In both experiments, speakers were randomly assigned to cognitive constraint and perspective-taking conditions, such that some speakers were under higher cognitive constraint and some speakers received a simple perspective-taking directive. We replicated previous findings that addi...
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Journal of Experimental Psychology: Genera) 1993, Vol. 122, No. 1, 39-^6 Copyright 1993 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0096-3445/93/S3.00 Do You Need a "Flash" to Form a Flashbulb Memory? Charles A. Weaver III... more
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Genera) 1993, Vol. 122, No. 1, 39-^6 Copyright 1993 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0096-3445/93/S3.00 Do You Need a "Flash" to Form a Flashbulb Memory? Charles A. Weaver III On January 16, 1991, students ...
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... difficulty. Schraw, Dunkle, Bendixen, and Roedel (1995) compared performance across a large number of tasks. ... point. " Patton, Weaver, Burns, Brady, and Bryant (1991) failed to replicate this finding in adult college... more
... difficulty. Schraw, Dunkle, Bendixen, and Roedel (1995) compared performance across a large number of tasks. ... point. " Patton, Weaver, Burns, Brady, and Bryant (1991) failed to replicate this finding in adult college students. Page 83. ...
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... difficulty. Schraw, Dunkle, Bendixen, and Roedel (1995) compared performance across a large number of tasks. ... point. " Patton, Weaver, Burns, Brady, and Bryant (1991) failed to replicate this finding in adult college... more
... difficulty. Schraw, Dunkle, Bendixen, and Roedel (1995) compared performance across a large number of tasks. ... point. " Patton, Weaver, Burns, Brady, and Bryant (1991) failed to replicate this finding in adult college students. Page 83. ...
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Hypnotizability is a multifaceted construct that may relate to multiple aspects of personality and beliefs. This study sought to address 4 known correlates of hypnotizability to aid in its understanding. Eighty undergraduates completed... more
Hypnotizability is a multifaceted construct that may relate to multiple aspects of personality and beliefs. This study sought to address 4 known correlates of hypnotizability to aid in its understanding. Eighty undergraduates completed the Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale (ASGS), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and then were administered the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS). All 5 scales were significantly correlated. Participants higher in hypnotizability scored higher on the CEQ and the MIS. The findings demonstrate the influence of fantasy proneness and magical thinking on hypnotizability and support the theory that hypnotizability is a complex interaction of multiple traits.
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Scientific investigation concerning the reliability of eyewitness testimony began more than a century ago [1], and thousands of studies have been published since the seminal work of Loftus and colleagues in the 1970s (see Eyewitness... more
Scientific investigation concerning the reliability of eyewitness testimony began more than a century ago [1], and thousands of studies have been published since the seminal work of Loftus and colleagues in the 1970s (see Eyewitness Testimony). Expert testimony in this ...