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Gonsalves, B.D. & Cohen, N.J. (2010). Brain imaging, cognitive processes, and brain networks. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 744-752.

A critical look at how behavioral evidence and neuroimaging techniques can provide converging evidence about the structure and function of the mind and brain. Two specific examples from memory research are presented to illustrate this approach.

1. According to the authors, why are brain imaging methods likely to fail at localizing constructs such as greed or criminality?
2. How have brain imaging studies served to reveal the role of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in memory? What are the specific cognitive processes and component cognitive processes attributed to the PPC?
3. Using neuroimaging techniques, what are the different roles that have been identified for the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the hippocampus in working memory?

Mantini, D. & Vanduffel W. (2013). Emerging roles of the brain’s default network. The Neuroscientist, 19, 76-87.

A review of the role of the brain’s default network in conscious experience. Specifically, an analysis of the behavioral evidence and physiological evidence underlying two theories for how consciousness functions: the internal mentation hypothesis and the sentinel hypothesis.

1. What behavioral evidence do the authors provide to support the internal mentation hypothesis? What areas of the brain’s default network are most active during spontaneous cognition?
2. What specific correlative evidence between behavioral and physiological measures of brain activity do the authors cite to provide support for the sentinel hypothesis?
3. How do the authors distinguish between core consciousness and extended consciousness? Which of these forms of consciousness is found in humans, but not in monkeys?
4. According to the authors, what is the relationship between the default network of the brain and consciousness? What evidence do the authors present to support this assertion?

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Behrmann, M. & Ewell, C. (2002). Expertise in tactile pattern recognition.  Psychological Science, 14, 480-486.

1. According to the authors, what is the composite effect? How is the composite effect related to the part-whole effect?
2. What is the primary difference in how information is represented in the visual and somatosensory systems?
3. What procedure did the authors use to train expertise in haptic pattern recognition?
4. Do the authors’ results demonstrate that expertise in haptic pattern recognition can be trained? If so, what specific finding demonstrates this development of expertise? What does it mean that haptic pattern recognition does not transfer to the visual domain?

Gazzaniga, M.S., Fendrich, R., & Wessinger, C.M. (1994). Blindsight Reconsidered.Current Directions in Psychological Science, 3, 93-96.

1. According to the authors, what are some issues that complicate the results obtained in the classic blindsight case of D.B.?
2. What do the authors mention as three important insights that are provided by the study of blindsight?
3. What do the authors believe to be the relationship between blindsight and conscious awareness? What role do they see for a secondary visual system in blindsight?

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Bratzke, D., Rolke, B., Ulrich, R., & Peters, M. (2007). Central slowing during the night.Psychological Science, 18, 456-461.

1. What evidence do the authors provide for their central slowing hypothesis?
2. What is the PRP paradigm? How is the speed of central processing determined by the PRP paradigm?
3. According to the authors, what time of day was the PRP effect most pronounced? What are the practical implications of these findings?

Hochman, J-R. & Papeo, L. (2014). The invariance problem in infancy: A pupillometry study. Psychological Science, 25, 2038-2046.

1. What is the invariance problem in speech perception? How is resolving the invariance problem a signature of mature speech perception?
2. How do the authors plan to use pupillometry to study speech perception in infants? What evidence exists demonstrating the successful use of pupillometry in studies involving infants?
3. In what way did the authors’ results indicate a developmental change in speech perception in infants? What was the nature of this change?
4. How do the results of this article relate to Hasher and Zacks (1979, 1984) proposal that humans have an innate capacity to automatically process frequency information?

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Roediger III, H.L.  & Wertsch, J.V. (2008). Creating a new discipline of memory studies.Memory Studies, 1, 9-22.

1. According to the authors, what are the core disciplines of a new field of memory studies? How does the use of memory in a discipline such as literature differ from its use in psychology?
2. What methodological and theoretical challenges exist for the emerging field of memory studies?
3. Washington University has created a two-year program, “Memory in Mind and Culture.” What are the courses that comprise this program and what topics do they cover?

Petty, R.E., Tormala, Z.L., Hawkins, C., & Wegener, D.T. (2001). Motivation to think and order effects in persuasion: The moderating role of chunking. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 332-344.

1. In their article, the authors discuss the effects of primacy and recency effects on the impact a message has on the susceptibility of individuals to persuasion. Based on the design of their study, in which messages are presented to participants, what do the authors consider to be a primacy effect? What do they consider to be a recency effect?
2. How are the primacy and recency effects in persuasive messages different from the primacy and recency effects in serial recall of items on a list? How are they the same?
3. What role do the authors’ consider chunking to have in how individuals evaluate messages?

Kirby, K.C., Montgomery, I.M., Badcock, R., Daniels, B.A. (1995). A comparison of age-related deficits in memory and frontal lobe function following oral lorazepam administration.Journal of Psychopharmacology, 9, 319-325.

1. According to the authors, what cognitive abilities tend to show impairment with increasing age?
2. The authors note that lorazepam, a drug known to produce temporary amnesia, has differential effects on old and young people. What are some of the effects reported by the authors?
3. Although damage to the hippocampus is generally associated with the development of amnesia, the present paper suggests that the frontal lobe can also play a role in amnesia. In particular, the authors point out that frontal lobe dysfunction is associated with a particular form of amnesia known as Korsakoff’s amnesia. Based on the information in the paper, how does Korsakoff’s amnesia differ from amnesia caused by damage to the hippocampus?
4. The authors report that lorazepam did not have any effect on non-verbal memory based on the performance of participants on the Rey Figure task. How does this agree with Baddeley’s theory of working memory?

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Wang, Q. & Brockmeier, J. (2002). Autobiographical remembering as cultural practice: Understanding the interplay between memory, self, and culture. Culture Psychology, 8, 45-64.

1. In their paper, the authors examine several genres of autobiographical remembering. One of these, the idea that we cast ourselves as the central character in our remembrances, is linked to western culture. The other view, in which the social context of the narrator is given importance, is linked to Asian culture. Based on these views of remembering one’s past, do you think it’s possible to purely experience semantic forms of memory or is all memory episodic?
2. Would you expect individuals who have lived in western and non-western cultures to possess an integrated autobiographical memory of their experiences that blends the two genres of narrative or separate autobiographical memories contextualized to each genre?
3. The authors make the suggestion that western culture leads to the development of an independently oriented self, whereas non-western culture promotes the development of an interdependently oriented self. According to the authors, what is the character of memory associated with each of these orientations?

Malhotra, N.K. (1991). Mnemonics in marketing: A pedagogical tool. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 19, 141-149.

1. The author distinguishes between two broad categories of mnemonic techniques: Organizational and encoding. What are the differences between these categories? With what type of material would it be most useful to employ organizational mnemonics? With what type of material would it be most useful to employ encoding mnemonics?
2. Which mnemonic techniques, organizational or encoding, would provide a greater depth of processing?
3. In the discussion section, the author points out some of the criticisms of mnemonic techniques. What are some of these criticisms? Do you agree or disagree with these criticisms?

Harvey, J.H., Flanary, R., & Morgan, M. (1986). Vivid memories of vivid loves gone by.Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 3, 359-373.

1. That aspects of the break-up of a close romantic relationship would you expect to have the qualities of a flashbulb memory?
2. The authors report that flashbulb memories were the most vivid for individuals who scored higher on a scale of depression. Why do you think heightened feelings of depression can increase the vividness of personal memories?
3. How do flashbulb memories of events experienced in one’s personal life, such as break-ups, differ from those of important historical events such as the Challenger disaster?

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Braun-LaTour, K.A., Grinley, M.J., & Loftus, E.F. (2006). Tourist memory distortion. Journal of Travel Research, 44, 360-367.

1. In their article, the authors discuss a number of factors known to cause memory distortions. What factors do they mention? Can you think of any additional factors?
2. For many years the tourist industry has relied on the impact of marketing to attract tourists to various destinations. Although much of this marketing has targeted consumers prior to their experience, setting up expectations regarding the destination, the present research suggests that the tourist industry needs to develop an approach to manage consumers’ post-experience impressions. Based on the research findings on memory distortion, what suggestions would you make for post-experience management?
3. How might memory distortion play a role in other real life areas such as how a boss evaluates an employee’s job performance?

Maurer, M. & Reinemann, C. (2006). Learning versus knowing: Effects of misinformation in televised debates. Communication Research, 33, 489-506.

1. The authors suggest that the information people receive from the mass media is usually quickly forgotten because most people are not motivated to actively process it. Based on the authors’ findings, what can we conclude about the informational value of watching a political debate?
2. According to the authors, a political debate may engender learning, as evidenced by an increase in the viewer’s knowledge. However, the knowledge gained may not be factual. Based on this account, contrast the dissemination of misinformation during a political debate with the procedure for the misinformation effect.
3. Discuss the similarity between the way misinformation is generated by political debates and the procedure for implanting memories.

Flouri, E. (2005). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): What we have learned and what we have still not found out. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 373-379.

1. According to the authors, what are some of the pre-disposing factors that contribute to the likelihood that an individual will develop PTSD?
2. The authors discuss a biomedical model of PTSD which assumes that individuals with an underlying predisposition to PTSD will develop the symptoms after exposure to a stressor. What do the authors identify as some of the limitations with the biomedical model?
3. The authors devote a portion of their article to discussing what is known about the development of PTSD in children. What do the authors identify as possible protective factors that would enhance the ability of a child to cope with a traumatic experience? How would you think these factors would mediate the dissociation of consciousness found in trauma-induced amnesia?

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Dijkerman, H.C., Ietswaart, M., Johnston, M., & MacWalter, R.S. (2004). Does motor imagery training improve hand function in chronic stroke patients? A pilot study.Clinical Rehabilitation, 18, 538-549.

1. In their paper, the authors report that training using motor imagery can improve the physical movement of individuals recovering from strokes. However, the authors found no evidence for a link between attentional control, perceived control, and motor imagery. Based on these results, do you think there is evidence for a functional equivalence for motor imagery and motor movements?
2. What are some other examples of motor tasks where performance might be improved through the use of motor imagery?
3. The authors used two tasks in their study of stroke patients: a motor imagery task and a visual imagery task. A description of these tasks is provided in the appendix to the article. Identify the characteristics that differ between these tasks in terms of the elements that must be imaged.

Lewis, J.W. (2006). Cortical networks related to human use of tools. The Neuroscientist, 12, 211-231.

1. In his discussion of tool use, the author introduces the concept of a “body schema.” According to the author, what type of knowledge is represented by a body schema?
2. After a thorough review of the research examining the brain areas activated during tool use, the author concludes that there is a “left hemisphere lateralization bias” associated with tool use. Interestingly, the left hemisphere also contains specialized structures, such as Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, devoted to language function. In what ways are tool use and language similar? Dissimilar?
3. The author discusses two types of movement disorders: ideomotor apraxia and ideational apraxia. What are the distinguishing characteristics of these forms of apraxia? What is the difference between apraxia and aphasia?

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Kilger, S. (1971). The grand illusion in teaching language. RELC, 2, 68-79.

1. The author discusses a mechanism known as the language acquisition device or LAD. What is the function of the LAD?
2. How does the author distinguish between the concepts of deep structure and surface structure?
3. How is chunking related to learning language?
4. According to the author, how does transformational theory provide a model for teaching language?

Urquhart, C. (1979). Reading, looking, and learning. Journal of Information Science, 1, 333-344.

1. What are the properties of printed language that are considered by the author to influence the reading process?
2. How do a reader’s expectations aid text comprehension?
3. In the article, the author reviews research on techniques designed to increase reading speed. According to the author, what evidence is there against the effectiveness of methods used to improve reading speed? What factor does the author suggest as important for success at becoming a speed reader?

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Strough, J., Cheng, S., & Swenson, L.M. (2002). Preferences for collaborative and individual everyday problem solving in later adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26, 26-35.

1. Discuss the pros and cons of solving everyday problems either alone or in groups.
2. In their article, the authors suggest that older adults attempt to “adjust their problem solving to best fit the resources available to them.” How does this reflect the idea of metacognition?
3. What evidence did the authors find regarding the role of domain-specific knowledge in older adults approaches to problem solving?

Lefebvre-Pinard, M. (1983). Understanding and auto-control of cognitive functions: Implications for the relationship between cognition and behavior. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 6, 15-35.

1. Some individuals will talk to themselves while engaged in problem solving. What are the benefits of this self-talk in terms of problem solving efficiency?
2. How does the problem solving process differ for children compared to adults?
3. The author views metacognition as an ability that varies among individuals with some being high in private self-consciousness and others being low. Do you think it is possible to increase an individual’s level of self-consciousness in a given problem solving situation?

Norris, S. P. (1989). Can we test validly for critical thinking? Educational Researcher, 18, 21-26.

1. How does the idea of critical thinking relate to metacognition?
2. What does the author mean by the term, “psychological generalizability?”
3. Do you think it is possible to develop a valid test that assesses critical thinking? What are some of the pros and cons of such a test?

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Steginga, S.K. & Occhipinti, S. (2004). The application of the heuristic-systematic model to treatment decision making about prostate cancer. Medical Decision Making, 24, 573-583.

1. In their article, the authors discuss two modes by which individuals can arrive at a decision: heuristic processing and systematic processing. How do these modes of processing differ?
2. How do the authors define the “expert opinion heuristic?” According to the authors, in what situations are men diagnosed with prostate cancer more likely to rely on the expert opinion heuristic?
3. In the conclusion of their article, the authors point out that their model incorporated elements of the availability heuristic. What are some of the differences between the authors’ expert opinion heuristic and the availability heuristic?
4. People often seek second opinions from medical doctors concerning their conditions. What are some of the factors that prompt people to seek a second opinion? What are some other situations where a second opinion is sought?

Fellows, L.K. (2004). The cognitive neuroscience of human decision making: A review and conceptual framework. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3, 159-172.

1. Fellows’ review article introduces readers to a task used to study decision making known as the Iowa gambler’s task (IGT). The IGT is designed to examine the relationship between risk, reward, and punishment in human decision making. What is the procedure for the IGT?
2. Contrast the IGT performance of normal individuals without brain damage to those with ventromedial frontal lobe (VMF) damage. According to the article, why do the VMF patients perform differently than the normal participants?
3. Fellows introduces a three-stage model of the components of human decision making. Describe the three components of this model and indicate the brain areas that are most strongly associated with each of these components?
4. Use Fellows’ three-stage model to contrast the differences in decision making for impulsive and non-impulsive individuals.

Carli, L.L. (1999). Cognitive reconstruction, hindsight, and reactions to victims and perpetrators. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 966-979.

1. According to the author, how are memory reconstruction processes and hindsight bias similar?
2. The author discusses how hindsight bias leads observers to derogate victims. What are some of the factors the author mentions for why hindsight bias would lead to victim derogation? What are the implications for the role of hindsight bias in jury decisions?
3. Based on the results of the author’s research linking memory reconstruction and hindsight bias, what steps can be taken to minimize the role of these factors in real-life decisions?