There has been a growing interest in the use of integrated tasks in the field of second language testing to enhance the authenticity of language tests. However, the role of text integration in test takers' performance has not been widely investigated. The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of text-based relational (i.e., cohesion) and propositional-specific (i.e., lexical) features on subsequent source text integration in spoken responses. In addition, the current study investigates the effects of word integration on human ratings of speaking performance. Sixty test-takers' speaking samples from the listen/speak section of the TOEFL-iBT were analyzed in terms of textual integration at the lexical and cohesion level and how this integration predicted human scores of speaking proficiency. The results indicate that the properties of the source text are strongly predicative of which words test takers will integrate into their response. Moreover, it was found that text integration is an important factor that affects human ratings of speaking proficiency. The findings of the study are discussed in terms of item difficulty and construct representation.

This study investigated the possibility that people use multiple different types of voluntary retrieval strategies when they are attempting to recall past episodes. In two experiments, we used a retrieve out loud procedure where participants were required to verbalize their thoughts while attempting to retrieve personal memories in response to phrase cues. In Experiment 1, we hypothesized that three main types of voluntary retrieval strategies would be evident during the retrieve out loud procedure, repeating, temporal, and generative/hierarchical retrieval. The results confirmed our hypothesis, showing that the three strategies were used equally. In Experiment 2, we examined the retrieval speed and success rates of the three strategies. The results showed that the repeating strategy was statistically faster than the other two strategies, while also showing that the temporal strategy had the least success in generating memories.

Purpose Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, and Black men, more than other racial groups, are affected by this memory error. A subgroup of Black men who have stereotypically Black features (dark skin, wide lips, and nose) are associated with the criminal‐Black‐man stereotype more than their atypical counterparts. This perception of criminality leads to harsh sentencing and misidentification from line‐ups in laboratory studies. In this study, we investigated whether face‐type biases that lead to misidentifications in the laboratory extend to real‐world cases. Method Participants rated the face stereotypicality of Black men exonerated by the Innocence Project (IP) with DNA evidence, who were incarcerated due to eyewitness misidentification (IP eyewitness) and for non‐misidentification reasons (IP other). Results Higher stereotypicality‐face ratings were given to IP eyewitness exonerates than to IP other exonerates regardless of participant race. Moreover, the face ratings were unrelated to the race of the eyewitness in the actual case (i.e., cross‐race, same race), suggesting that cross‐race misidentification was not associated with higher stereotypicality ratings of the IP eyewitness exonerates. Conclusions These findings are consistent with extant laboratory research wherein Black men with stereotypical facial features are at increased risk for eyewitness misidentification and that face‐type biases extend beyond cross‐race judgements. These results further highlight the risk of face‐type judgements in misidentifications that potentially contribute to error in real‐world cases.

The ability of police and jurors to make informed, unbiased decisions is paramount to the integrity of the legal system. Police and jurors as decision-makers follow procedures ensuring that individuals receive a fair trial from the time of arrest to sentencing. However this process has come under public scrutiny with recent negative media attention focused on police shootings, aggressive handling or interrogation of suspects, and jurors' seemingly biased treatment of minority group members. Most researchers studying factors that motivate police and juror behavior focus on the external influences of decision-making, such as the climate of violence in a neighborhood, or culturally-entrenched criminal stereotypes. Fewer have focused on the cognitive factors that impact the internal decision-making processes. In this review we compile the research on individual differences in cognitive ability (e.g., working memory capacity) and event circumstances (e.g., high emotion, attention load), that influence police and jury decision-making. The majority of studies in this area are laboratory-based which may attenuate the transfer of findings to real-world settings, but cognitive mechanisms engaged in the field are likely similar. Overall, this review suggests that overload of cognitive capacity reduces controlled processing ability, which may work to undermine the reliability of decision-making at all phases of the legal process. Field studies are needed to better understand when decision-makers may be overburdened, and what interventions are most appropriate.

Involuntary memory chains are spontaneous recollections of the past that occur in a sequence. Much like semantic memory priming, this memory phenomenon has provided some insights into the nature of associations in autobiographical memory. The event-cueing procedure (a laboratory-based memory sequencing task) has also provided some insights into the nature of autobiographical memory organisation. However, while both of these memory-sequencing phenomena have exhibited the same types of memory associations (conceptual associations and general-event or temporal associations), both have also produced discrepant results with respect to the relative proportions of such associations. This study investigated the possibility that the results from event cueing are artefacts of various memory production responses. Using a number of different approaches we demonstrated that these memory production responses cause overestimates of general-event association. We conclude that for this reason, the data from involuntary memory chains provide a better picture of the organisation of autobiographical memory.