Four experiments on short-term retention are reported. Retention is known to be an inverse function of number of elements in the item, and Exp. I inquired if this finding is a function of the ease with which natural language mediators (NLMs) are formed. Acoustic similarity and item length were variables in Exp. I. The NLMs functioned as hypothesized, but a confounding with associative strength precluded a theoretical decision about the number-of-elements variable. The effects of acoustic similarity were essentially absent. Experiments II-IV pursued other aspects of acoustic similarity, and the effects of it were small and unsystematic. A need for clarifying the role of the acoustic similarity variable is discussed.Research on natural language mediators (NLMs) in short-and long-term retention (

A closed-loop theory of verbal learning was tested, where it is assumed that the sensory feedback from a response lays down the reference against which the correctness of future occurrences of the response is tested. A short-term memory (STM) paradigm was used, with consonant tetragrams as items. Experimental groups had interference with audio feedback, tactual-proprioceptive feedback, or both in acquisition and were compared with a control group having standard, unimpaired learning. Recall was without interference for all groups. It was hypothesized that feedback interference should affect retention, with experimental groups having poorer recall than the control group. The data supported the hypothesis. Adams (1967, Ch. 10;) has suggested a closed-loop hypothesis for learning that uses two kinds of habit: the memory trace, which is the habit bond between stimulus and response, and the perceptual trace, which is a sensory habit and a consequence of stimulation from the environment or response feedback. To illustrate for a verbal response, rehearsal defines the correct response and establishes a memory trace, which is the associative agent that fires the response when the eliciting stimulus is presented, and the proprioceptive, tactual, and auditory feedback stimuli from the response are the sensory agents that lay down perceptual traces. It is these perceptual traces that are'the internal references for response recognition against which the sensory feedback from subsequent responses are compared, error assessed, and the judgment about response correctness is made. In the same way, environmental stimuli lay down a perceptual trace as the reference for subsequent recognition of them.An implication of the hypothesis is that interference with one or more of the feedback loops during learning should attenuate the reference mechanism based on it, with the result that 5" should be less able to judge

No abstract

Instead of an approach which brings together some kind of "magic solution" from the outside, the social ecological approach of the "Bottled Pain" project centers on supportive relationships between people, their families, and relatives, and their environment as natural strengths within a community. It draws on the skills and abilities of people within a community. It contributes to helping a neighborhood or an organization see itself as a resource for its members and for persons in the community at large. The approach of social ecology fosters empowerment; that is, it encourages people to come together in community and take action to control their own lives. The Participants and the SettingsApproximately 10,000 people in 24 congregations of the American Lutheran Church in Southeastern Minnesota are participating in the project. The work is taking place within each congregation's own community setting. Twelve of the congregations are participating in a chemical dependency information and education approach. Six of these 12 congregations in addition receive special 0163-514x(82}1600-0139502.75 139

No abstract