Cathy McEvoy

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Papers by Cathy McEvoy

Organization and use of the mental lexicon by deaf and hearing individuals

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2001

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Age changes in the processing of implicitly activated information

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 1991

Objective and Subjective Hearing Loss: Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Innovation in Aging, Nov 1, 2018

Hearing loss affects 1/3 of adults >65 yrs. and 50% of those >80 yrs. Untreated hearing loss lead... more Hearing loss affects 1/3 of adults >65 yrs. and 50% of those >80 yrs. Untreated hearing loss leads to decreased speech understanding, and is a risk factor for social isolation, depression, decreased community engagement, cognitive decline, falls, and mortality. Onset of hearing loss is typically gradual, and most people are unaware of the severity of their impairment. Hearing screenings have the potential to raise awareness about hearing loss and generate behavior change. In this symposium, we will describe the role hearing screening plays in promoting help seeking and will discuss innovative theoretically-based screening approaches. We will begin with an introduction to the impacts of untreated hearing loss, and present findings from a community-based hearing screening study (Saunders). The importance of hearing in the delivery of value-based health care will be demonstrated, while options for screening asymptomatic individuals with multiple morbidities will be offered, along with cost-effective solutions for optimizing hearing in at-risk persons (Weinstein). This will be followed by the presentation of data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos project, which will illustrate that the relationship between measured and subjective perceptions of hearing provides insight into predictors of hearing aid use (Arnold). Next, data will illuminate how community health workers can assist in identifying signs of hearing loss among community members while facilitating educational and peer-support groups for individuals with hearing loss and their families (Marrone). Finally, a photograph-based tool that has been shown to promote help seeking for hearing loss will be described (Frederick).

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Entangling words and meaning

Human memory experiments appear to be generating "nonlocal" effects (Nelson & McEvoy 2007). In th... more Human memory experiments appear to be generating "nonlocal" effects (Nelson & McEvoy 2007). In this paper the possibility that words might be entangled in human semantic space is seriously entertained. This approach leads to a very natural picture of the way in which context might affect word association via the standard interpretation of quantum measurement. Two possible scenarios for testing such a hypothesis are suggested, both based upon potential violations of the CHSH inequality.

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Aging and Inhibition of Unconsciously Processed Information: No Apparent Deficit

Applied Cognitive Psychology, Jun 1, 1996

ABSTRACT Young and older adults were compared on a cued recall task designed to show effects of a... more ABSTRACT Young and older adults were compared on a cued recall task designed to show effects of activation and inhibition of unconsciously processed information. The number of associates related to the target words by prior experience was varied, and the targets were studied either in the absence or the presence of meaningfully related context cues. The number of associates of the target had an effect on recall when context cues were absent during study, suggesting that the associates had been activated and encoded during study. In contrast, when context cues were present during study, no effect of the number of target associates was observed, suggesting that the associates had been inhibited during study. Comparable activation and inhibition effects were obtained for younger and older subjects. The results suggested little or no age-related deficit in inhibition when the to-be-inhibited information was unconsciously processed and not brought to conscious awareness.

Organization and Use of the Mental Lexicon by Deaf and Hearing Individuals

American Annals of the Deaf, 2004

AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF dog), subordinates (e.g., dog to animal), and coordinates (e.g., cat ... more AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF dog), subordinates (e.g., dog to animal), and coordinates (e.g., cat to dog). Deese pointed out that these responses reflect both formal, logical learning of groupings with agreed-upon titles (such as animal) and informal categories (such as "things one can carry"). This is logical, perhaps, but later studies showed that the organization of knowledge is affected by an individual's personal and cultural experience. For example, a comparison of aboriginal and white Australian adolescents (Drinkwater, 1972), and another of French-speaking and Englishspeaking Canadians (Vikis-Freibergs & Freibergs, 1976), both indicated greater differences than are observed within a single-language cultural group, although there still was considerable agreement across the two groups in both cases. Yoon et al. (2002) similarly found variation in the responses given

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Advances in the neuropsychopharmacology of aging and dementia

Experimental Aging Research, Mar 1, 1986

Abstract A review of Normal Aging, Alzheimer's Disease and Senile Dementia: Aspects on Etiolo... more

Clinical Comments

Clinical Gerontologist, Jun 25, 1989

Aging and the stability of activation and sampling in cued recall

Psychology and Aging, 1990

Age effects in cued recall were investigated as a function of activation and sampling of preexist... more Age effects in cued recall were investigated as a function of activation and sampling of preexisting associates of the test cue. Young adults, community-dwelling elderly, and elderly patients studied lists of unrelated words and were tested with extralist cues. Preexperimental strength between test cues and studied words was manipulated to discern differences in activation, and normative size of the set of associates was manipulated to discern differences in sampling. Test delay and prior testing were also manipulated in Experiment 1. Although large age effects were found with phonemic and taxonomic test cues, young and older subjects showed comparable effects of strength and set size, suggesting that age effects were not due to activation and sampling differences. Test delay and prior testing also had comparable effects. Implications for age effects in episodic cued recall are discussed.

Entangled Associative Structures and Context

National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2007

Scientists are engaged in mapping the universe, the land, the genome, and word knowledge. In this... more Scientists are engaged in mapping the universe, the land, the genome, and word knowledge. In this paper we describe results of a 30-year effort to map and understand how preexisting word knowledge affects memory for a recently experienced word. We show how some of these findings are inconsistent with widely held views in psychological science and support the incorporation of the quantum formalism in our attempts to understand how prior knowledge interacts with recent experience and context. We relate our work to the state context property (SCOP) quantum formalism.

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Behavioral Treatment of Deficit Skills in Dementia Patients

Gerontologist, Oct 1, 1986

... Woburn, MA: Butterworth. Haley, WE (1983). A family-behavioral approach to the treatment of t... more

Memory Improvement in Context: Implications for the Development of Memory Improvement Theory

Springer eBooks, 1992

Memory improvement, both as an academic and a commercial pursuit, has a mixed history. On the one... more Memory improvement, both as an academic and a commercial pursuit, has a mixed history. On the one hand, the classic mnemonic devices, notably the method of loci and imagery, are well documented in their effectiveness and appear in probably every introductory psychology text ever published. Students faced with large bodies of seemingly incomprehensible information sometimes rely on mnemonic techniques to organize and remember the various facts. Many business people, politicians, and college professors intentionally memorize the names of clients, constituents, and students, using classic as well as personalized memory improvement techniques. Recent studies indicate that older adults can learn to improve their performance on various cognitive tasks (see Willis, 1990), and schoolchildren benefit from strategy training in their academic endeavors (Pressley & El-Dinary, this volume).

Mediated Priming in Younger and Older Adults

Experimental Aging Research, Mar 1, 1999

T his paper reports the result of a lexical decision experiment in which the primes were either d... more T his paper reports the result of a lexical decision experiment in which the primes were either directly related to their targets, mediated, or unrelated. M ediated primes are indirectly related to their targets through a single connecting link (e.g., PAST URE COW M ILK). Older and younger adult subjects responded to each letter string in a continuous lexical decision task, deciding whether each string was a word or a nonword. T he results indicated that both younger and older subjects bene ted from the mediated primes, as well as from the directly related primes. T he results are discussed in relation to issues of age changes in processing speed.

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What is this thing called frequency?

Memory & Cognition, Jul 1, 2000

When researchers are interested in the influence of long-term knowledge on performance, printed w... more When researchers are interested in the influence of long-term knowledge on performance, printed word frequency is typically the variable of choice. Despite this preference, we know little about what frequency norms measure. They ostensibly index how often and how recently words are experienced, but words appear in context, so frequency potentially reflects an influence of connections with other words. This paper presents the results of a large free association study as well as the results of experiments designed to evaluate the hypothesis that common words have stronger connections to other words. The norms indicate that common words tend to be more concrete but they do not appear to have more associates, stronger associates, or more connections among their associates. Two extralist cued recall experiments showed that, with other attributes being equal, high-and low-frequency words were equally effective as test cues. These results suggest that frequency does not achieve its effects because of stronger or greater numbers of connections to other words, as implied in SAM, Other results indicated that common words have more connectionsjrom other words, including their associates, and that free association provides a valid index of associative strength.

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Spreading activation or spooky action at a distance?

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 2003

How do preexisting connections among a word&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;a... more How do preexisting connections among a word&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s associates facilitate its cued recall and recognition? A spreading-activation model assumes activation spreads to, among, and from a studied word&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s associates, and that its return is what strengthens its representation. An activation-at-a-distance model assumes strengthening is produced by the synchronous activation of the word&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s associates. The spread model predicts that connections among the studied word&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s associates will have a greater effect on memory when more of its associates return activation. The distance model predicts that total connections are important, not their direction. The results of cued recall experiments supported the distance model in showing that that connections among the associates facilitated recall regardless of the number of returning connections.

Effects of retention interval and modality on sensory and semantic trace information

Memory & Cognition, Jul 1, 1979

Subjects studied a long list of individual words that were presented either visually or auditoril... more Subjects studied a long list of individual words that were presented either visually or auditorily. Recall was tested immediately or after a filled delay by using either word endings or taxonomie eategories as extralist retrieval eues. Two interaetions were of partieular interest. First, word ending eues were just as effeetive as taxonomie eues on the immediate test. On the delayed test, however, ending eues were less effective. This result suggests that sensory information eneoded about a word deeays at a faster rate than semantic information. Seeond, although modality had no observable influenee on the taxonomie cues, word ending eues were more effective when all items were shown visually than when they were presented auditorily. Taken together, these findings indieate that the visual features of words are eneoded at study and that this information ean be aeeessed during test if it is reeapitulated by the retrieval eue shortly after aequisition. Words and pictures are theoretically represented in memory in terms of their associated visual, phonemic, and semantic features. These features are conceptualized as being independent and as representing qualitatively different "types" (Nelson, 1979) or "levels" (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) of information. Moreover, it now seems apparent that semantically emphasized encodings prompted by semantic cues are more likely to be recalled than sensory emphasized encodings prompted by sensory cues (e.g., Craik & Tulving, 1975; Nelson & McEvoy, 1979; Nelson, Walling, & McEvoy, 1979). This semantic superiority effect is usually explained by assuming that semantic encodings are more distinctive (Craik, 1979) or more interactive (Nelson, 1979; Nelson & McEvoy, 1979). However, as Craik and Lockhart (1972) have suggested, semantic superiority may arisc because sensory encodings decay at relatively faster rates. Unfortunate1y, the evidence on this point is mixed, with severa1 studies reporting equivalent rates (Bregman, 1968; Jacoby, 1975; Shulman, 1970) and others suggesting faster rates (Cermak & Youtz, 1976; Kintsch & Buschke, 1969). Thus, the question of differential decay is unreso1ved. These apparently conflicting results may be re1ated to procedural differences, They mayaiso be related to one or more of four other considerations. First, preexperimental associative similarities between the retrieval cues and their targets were not controlled. Like associates, rhymes vary in strength. It would be no surprise to discover that strong associates can be more effective cu es than weak rhymes (Nelson, Wheeler, Borden, & Brooks, 1974). Second, the number of relevant alterna

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Source monitoring in eyewitness memory: Implicit associations, suggestions, and episodic traces

Memory & Cognition, Jul 1, 2005

Both the distinctiveness heuristic and discrepancy detection hypotheses were investigated by inde... more Both the distinctiveness heuristic and discrepancy detection hypotheses were investigated by independently manipulating both schema consistency and incidental suggestion in an eyewitness memory paradigm. A sequence of slides was shown, followed by a postevent questionnaire that contained both schema-typical and schema-atypical information. Fifteen minutes later, a source-monitoring task was administered. In Experiment 1, the proportion of source misattribution errors was greater for schematypical items than for schema-atypical items, and the proportion of errors on suggested items was greater than that on control items. Suggestion affected schema-typical and schema-atypical items equally, providing no support for the predictions of either hypothesis. In Experiment 2, the interval between the questionnaire and the source test was manipulated. The results of Experiment 1 were replicated under the short delay, whereas the proportion of errors increased under the long delay. An associative network model involving two types of episodic traces was used to account for the results.

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Doubts about depth

Journal of experimental psychology, 1979

Age effects in cued recall: Sources from implicit and explicit memory

Psychology and Aging, 1995

In 2 experiments, young and old adults were compared on cued recall using direct and indirect tes... more In 2 experiments, young and old adults were compared on cued recall using direct and indirect test instructions. Participants studied words under an incidental orienting task of rating each word for concreteness. Test cues were meaningfully related to the targets, and participants used them either to recall the studied word (direct test) or to generate a related word (indirect test). Target words and test cues varied in the number of associates linked to them prior to the laboratory experience, and effects of the size of the sets of associates were used as indicators of implicit memory search. Age differences were observed in the effects of target and cue set size as well as in the effects of type of test instruction. Older adults perform less well than younger adults on laboratory tests of memory, such as cued recall or recognition, that explicitly require the deliberate recall of recently experienced stimuli. The age difference is less apparent on memory tasks that test for implicit evidence of the recent experience without requiring deliberate recall, such as perceptual identification and lexical decision. These two categories of tasks are referred to, respectively, as tests of explicit and implicit memory (see Light, 1991, for review) or as direct and indirect measures of memory (Richardson-Klavehn & Bjork, 1988). Indirect tests of memory have been of interest to psychologists studying cognitive aging because the tests seem to suggest the existence of memory structures or memory processes that are relatively well preserved throughout the adult years. Several mechanisms have been proffered to explain implicit memory performance, including the possibility that implicit tasks involve the activation of preexisting knowledge (Graf & Mandler, 1984), which may be unaffected by age. This explanation is compatible with findings from lexical decision and other tasks that suggest relatively intact semantic networks for older adults (

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Encoding context and set size

Journal of experimental psychology, May 1, 1979

These experiments focused on the issue of whether two principles are neces-sary to explain amount... more

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