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Despite the increasing interest in learning non-alphabetical languages such as Chinese, research about its learning process for alphabet users is scarce. Research conducted on Latin alphabet users on learning languages written in Latin alphabet, or on Chinese language learning in Chinese native speakers, users is undoubtedly useful but it does not inform about the peculiarities of leaning Chinese language by other alphabet users. Additionally, several authors have highlighted the need to inform and extend the current second language acquisition theories on the particular challenges of learning a language that uses another script. In this research we aim to contribute filling this research gap and studied the learning process of Chinese vocabulary by users of scripts different from Chinese. In particular, we examined the role of pictures and translations as learning aids for Chinese language vocabulary learning in participants familiarized with either one or two alphabetical scripts (different from the Chinese logographic script). One hundred thirteen participants studied word-aid pairs in different conditions: Hanzi (Chinese in Chinese characters)-picture; Pinyin (Chinese in Latin alphabet)-picture; Hanzi-translation; Pinyin-translation. Participants evaluated the future recallability of the words and their meanings (i.e., judgements of learning) and completed two recognition tests. Words in Pinyin and words-translation pairs were judged to be easier to remember than Hanzi and word-pictures pairs. Participants remembered the meaning of words written in Hanzi better than in Pinyin, and word-translations pairs better than pictures, but they were more confident about word-picture pairs. These results suggest that pictures boost confidence in learning Chinese, but do not affect performance. These findings suggest that while pictures may boost confidence in learning Chinese, they may not necessarily lead to better performance. Our study provides valuable insights into the interaction of learning aids and writing system in (meta)memory during vocabulary acquisition.

A considerable body of experimental data currently exists on the representation and processing of derived words. However, no theoretical account has led to a consensus so far, due in part to inconsistencies in empirical results which show either the presence or the absence of signs of early morphological decomposition during lexical access. In this paper, we present the results of a meta-analysis that sought to examine the robustness of the masked morphological priming effect (MMP) in native and non-native speakers. This effect is indexed by faster responses to targets preceded by morphologically related primes vs. unrelated primes (e.g., fighter-FIGHT < needle-FIGHT), and is perhaps the most widespread effect used to test whether speakers of a given language are sensitive to the morphological components of words at early stages of lexical access. To this end, we selected 10 masked priming lexical decision studies (16 experiments) conducted with native and non-native speakers. Variables such as prime duration and level of L2 proficiency were considered in the analyses to assess their impact on the MMP effect. Results showed significant MMP effects, which were restricted to native speakers. No modulations were found for the prime duration. Results are interpreted in light of prevalent models of complex word processing.

A popular model proposes that metamemory is based on two processes, monitoring and control. The first examines memories and evaluates their quality and the second uses that information to decide on the most appropriate course of action. Monitoring and control processes have been studied mostly with university students, which raises the question of how well do they work in groups of people from under-represented samples such as people with a low educational level. In this research, we tested the monitoring and control processes of three groups of participants from a non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) country (Colombia). Two groups of adults (aged 30–55 years) living in urban or rural areas and with a low educational level and a group of Colombian university students watched a bank robbery video and answered cued recall questions. To measure monitoring ability, participants rated their confidence that they had produced the correct answer, and to measure control they indicated whether they preferred to report or withhold the response were they in a trial. Results showed that the three groups had a functional ability to monitor their memories and control their behaviour, and that university students had better memory and metamemory than the two low education groups. The results support the concept that the basic metamemory processes of monitoring and control are functional in different groups of individuals, but the differences between groups highlight the need to test the generalizability of cognitive processes and phenomena across individuals.

In the study of gender representation and processing in bilinguals, two contrasting perspectives exist: integrated versus autonomous (Costa, Kovacic, Franck, & Caramazza, 2003 ,  Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 6 , 181–200). In the former, cross-linguistic interactions during the selection of grammatical gender values are expected; in the latter, they are not. To address this issue, authors have typically explored the cross-linguistic gender congruency effect (GCE; a facilitation on the naming or translation of second language [L2] nouns when their first language [L1] translations are of the same gender, in comparison to those of a different gender). However, the literature suggests that this effect is sometimes difficult to observe and might vary as a function of variables, such as the syntactic structure produced to translate or name the target (bare nouns vs. noun phrases), the phonological gender transparency of both languages (whether or not they have phonological gender cues associated with the ending letter—e.g., “–a” for feminine words and “–o” for masculine words in Romance languages), the degree of L2 proficiency, and task requirements (naming vs. translation). The aim of the present quantitative meta-analysis is to examine the robustness of the cross-linguistic GCE obtained during language production. It involves 25 experiments from 11 studies. The results support a bilingual gender-integrated view, in that they show a small but significant GCE regardless of the variables mentioned above.

We examined the memory for central and peripheral information concerning a crime and the acceptance of false information. We also studied eyewitnesses' confidence in their memory. Participants were shown a video depicting a bank robbery and a questionnaire was used to introduce false central and peripheral information. The next day the participants completed a recognition task in which they rated the confidence of their responses. Performance was better for central information and participants registered more false alarms for peripheral contents. The cognitive system's limited attentional capacity and the greater information capacity of central elements may facilitate processing the more important information. The presentation of misinformation seriously impaired eyewitness memory by prompting a more lenient response criterion. Participants were more confident with central than with peripheral information. Eyewitness memory is easily distorted in peripheral aspects but it is more difficult to make mistakes with central information. However, when false information is introduced, errors in central information can be accompanied by high confidence, thus rendering them credible and legally serious. Estudiamos la aceptación de información falsa y la memoria de contenidos centrales y periféricos sobre un crimen. Además, también nos interesamos por la confianza que los testigos tienen en su memoria. Los participantes vieron un vídeo sobre un robo a un banco, inmediatamente después completaron un cuestionario con preguntas en las que se introdujo información falsa sobre contenidos centrales y periféricos y, un día después, completaron una prueba de reconocimiento en la que también indicaron su confianza en la respuesta. El rendimiento fue mejor con contenidos centrales y hubo más falsas alarmas con periféricos. Este resultado puede explicarse a partir de la limitada capacidad atencional del sistema cognitivo y de la mayor capacidad informativa de los contenidos centrales, que puede promover su procesamiento preferencial. La presentación de información falsa empeoró el testimonio al provocar un criterio de respuesta más laxo y la confianza fue mayor ante contenidos centrales que periféricos. Se concluye que es fácil alterar la memoria de un testigo sobre aspectos periféricos, pero es más difícil con aspectos centrales. Sin embargo, cuando se presenta información falsa, los errores con información central pueden evaluarse con confianza alta, lo que los haría potencialmente creíbles y peligrosos en el sistema judicial.

Items presented in large font are rated with higher judgments of learning (JOLs) than those presented in small font. According to current explanations of this phenomenon in terms of processing fluency or implicit beliefs, this effect should be present no matter the type of material under study. However, we hypothesized that the linguistic cues present in sentences may prevent using font size as a cue for JOLs. Experiment 1 , with short sentences, showed the standard font-size effect on JOLs, and Experiment 2 , with pairs of longer sentences, showed a reduced effect. These results suggest that linguistic factors do not prevent font size from being used for JOLs. However, Experiment 3 , with both short and long sentences, showed an effect of font size only for the former and not the latter condition, suggesting that the greater amount of to-be-remembered information eliminated the font-size effect. In Experiment 4 , we tested a mechanism to explain this result and manipulated cognitive load using the dot-memory task. The short sentences from Experiments 1 and 3 were used, and the results replicated the font-size effect only in the low-cognitive load condition. Our results are consistent with the idea that perceptual information is used to make JOLs only with materials such as words, word pairs, or short sentences, and that the increased cognitive load required to process longer sentences prevents using font size as a cue for JOLs.

Previous studies have shown that, when people asked to retrieve something from memory have the chance to regulate memory accuracy, the accuracy of their final report increases. Such regulation of accuracy can be made through one of several strategies: the report option, the grain-size option, or the plurality option. However, sometimes an answer can be directly accessed and reported without resorting to such strategies. The direct-access answers are expected to be fast, have high accuracy, and be rated with high probabilities of being correct. Thus, direct-access answers alone could explain the increase of accuracy that has been considered the outcome of regulatory strategies. If so, regulatory strategies may not be needed to explain the previous results. In two experiments, we disentangled the effects of direct-access answers and regulatory strategies in the increase of accuracy. We identified a subset of direct-access answers, and then examined the regulation of accuracy with the plurality option when they were removed. Participants answered questions with six (Exp. 1) or five (Exp. 2) alternatives. Their task was, first, to select as many alternatives as they wanted and, second, to select only two or four alternatives. The results showed that the direct-access answer affected the regulation of accuracy and made it easier. However, the results also showed that regulatory strategies, in this case the plurality option, are needed to explain why the accuracy of final report increases after successful regulation. This research highlighted the relevance of taking direct-access answers into account in the study of the regulation of accuracy.

We examined the influence of the type of radio program on the memory for radio advertisements. We also investigated the role in memory of the typicality (high or low) of the elements of the products advertised. Participants listened to three types of programs (interesting, boring, enjoyable) with two advertisements embedded in each. After completing a filler task, the participants performed a true/false recognition test. Hits and false alarm rates were higher for the interesting and enjoyable programs than for the boring one. There were also more hits and false alarms for the high-typicality elements. The response criterion for the advertisements embedded in the boring program was stricter than for the advertisements in other types of programs. We conclude that the type of program in which an advertisement is inserted and the nature of the elements of the advertisement affect both the number of hits and false alarms and the response criterion, but not the accuracy of the memory.