Explore the vast range of titles available.

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.

The main aim of this study was to validate 500 true-false general-knowledge questions in Russian. These norms are valuable to researchers in many fields, as is shown by the impact and relevance of similar norms available in other languages. Although the Russian language is widely spoken, there are no norms available in this language for this type of questions. True-false questions are very useful for measuring semantic memory, among other topics, in neurocognitive studies where there is a trade-off between experimental time and the need for many trials. These types of experimental materials are heavily rooted in cultural background knowledge, making the mere translation from one language to another insufficient. The present research aims to fill this gap. One hundred fifty-five participants answered 500 true-false general knowledge questions split over several consecutive days and three topics: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Culture & Sport. The participants’ task was to indicate whether the statements were true or not, as well as the confidence they had in the correctness of their answer. Despite obtaining questions on each of the topics covering all difficulty levels, grouped analyses showed that Social Science’s accuracy was higher than for Natural Science’s or Culture & Sport questions. In relation to confidence, the grouped perceived difficulty was higher for questions about Culture & Sports when compared with the other two topics. Thus, this study reports and makes available a large pool of Russian true-false general knowledge questions covering different levels of difficulty.

Neocortical structures of the left frontal lobe, middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in particular, have been suggested to be linked to the processing of punishing and unpleasant outcomes in decision tasks. To assess the role of left MFG (lMFG) in communicative decisions, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to inhibit its function during communicational exchanges under two types of social contexts: formal and informal. Three groups of participants received an offline 1-Hz inhibitory rTMS of lMFG, right MFG as an active control site, or lMFG sham/placebo TMS as a passive control condition. Participants’ task included answering difficult general-knowledge questions, rating their confidence in their answers’ correctness, and, finally, deciding if they would report or withhold these answers in formal and informal social contexts. There were significantly more reported than withheld answers in the informal context in all groups. The formal context showed no differences between reported and withheld answers in both control conditions, while, crucially, real rTMS of lMFG produced a different pattern, with more withheld than reported answers. Thus, lMFG inhibition seems to result in more rational decisions made only in formal communication contexts, where there is a perception of a certain pressure or possible negative outcomes. In informal social contexts and in the absence of negative consequences the pattern of answers did not change, regardless of the reporting strategy or the TMS protocol used. These results suggest selective context-dependent involvement of the lMFG in decision-making processes during communicational exchanges taking place under social pressure.

With the use of multivariate Bayesian mixed-effects models, GLMM-based approach, and partial effects, the paper demonstrates how overlapping ERP responses in one sample of participants predict behavioral SAT profiles of another sample. [...]this research confirms that the P300 and N400 reflect two independent but interacting processes and that the competition between these processes is reflected differently in the speed-accuracy trade-off behavior. [...]in an EEG study on a language in transition (Icelandic) Bornkessel-Schlesewsky et al. show that the neurophysiological responses already reflect projected language changes that are not yet apparent in the overt behavior of native speakers. [...]the present Research Topic will undoubtedly contribute to a better understanding of how neurocognitive systems provide humans with language and will help to further unveil the backstage of our intrinsic communication abilities.

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.

The main aim of this study was to validate 500 true-false general-knowledge questions in Russian. These norms are valuable to researchers in many fields, as is shown by the impact and relevance of similar norms available in other languages. Although the Russian language is widely spoken, there are no norms available in this language for this type of questions. True-false questions are very useful for measuring semantic memory, among other topics, in neurocognitive studies where there is a trade-off between experimental time and the need for many trials. These types of experimental materials are heavily rooted in cultural background knowledge, making the mere translation from one language to another insufficient. The present research aims to fill this gap. One hundred fifty-five participants answered 500 true-false general knowledge questions split over several consecutive days and three topics: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Culture & Sport. The participants' task was to indicate whether the statements were true or not, as well as the confidence they had in the correctness of their answer. Despite obtaining questions on each of the topics covering all difficulty levels, grouped analyses showed that Social Science's accuracy was higher than for Natural Science's or Culture & Sport questions. In relation to confidence, the grouped perceived difficulty was higher for questions about Culture & Sports when compared with the other two topics. Thus, this study reports and makes available a large pool of Russian true-false general knowledge questions covering different levels of difficulty.

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.