Confidential Psychological Report: Mayra's Cognitive Abilities

This experiment is based on previous research done. For example, in 1969, in a research by Bower and Clark, no difference in the immediate recall scores of both groups was noted, but when later asked to recall, those who used narrative chaining recalled an average of 93% of the words compared to the control group which only recalled an average of 13% of words. In another experiment, participants who used narrative chaining remembered six times more information than participants who learned by simply repeating the words to themselves (Loftus, 1980). Narrative chaining is particularly useful when a person wants to remember information in a particular order. The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of narrative chaining on memory. It is hypothesized that in a group of 59 participants aged 10-69 years old, participants who use narrative chaining to remember a list of words will remember a higher number and percentage of words when asked to write down as many words as possible through serial recall compared to participants who use maintenance rehearsal.

The WISC-IV is a test of cognitive abilities that measures four global areas and combines them to provide a full-scale intelligence quotient. The four areas include Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed. The Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) is derived from a combination of ten subtest scores and is considered the most representative estimate of global intellectual functioning. The results of the current test conducted on Leo Marcelynas indicate that his Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) is 101. It can be stated with 95% confidence that Leo’s FSIQ falls between 96-106, indicating that he is functioning in the Normative Average Range of intellectual ability. Given the consistency among his scores on Verbal

Rosslynn presented as a Caucasian female who was of average stature and normal build. She appeared her stated age of nine. The youth was casually dressed and exhibited adequate grooming and hygiene. No gross abnormalities were noted in ambulation, posture, and/or coordination, nor did Rosslynn exhibit difficulties with fine or gross motor skills. The youth’s expressive speech appeared normal in rate/rhythm and tone. Rosslynn was cooperative with the examiner and the evaluation process. Rosslynn displayed no severe cognitive deficits or impediments in need of neuropsychological/neurological attention, as grossly assessed by the Mental Status Examination. She maintained appropriate eye contact throughout the interview. Rosslynn was oriented in all spheres. The youth presented with appropriate immediate and short-term memory, as she was able to recall what she had for dinner the night before the interview, and recalled three words presented to her orally. Remote memory also appeared intact, as Rosslynn was able to recall historic information when she was two year of age. No gross impairments in attention or concentration skills were noted. The youth appeared to have adequate abstract thinking abilities. Rosslynn appeared performed fairly in the serial seven task as she was able to complete three of the seven. She was able to recall digits presented to her orally, both forward and

The current evaluation included an assessment of his cognitive processing using the WISC-V Anthony's performance across the various indexes ranged from Low Average to High Average. He obtained an overall FSIQ score of 101 (53rd percentile), which is classified as the Average range of cognitive abilities. He demonstrated a personal strength in his Fluid Reasoning skills. His Processing Speed, Working Memory, and Visual Spatial abilities were intact. Anthony displayed relative weaknesses in his Verbal Comprehension and

Remote memory also appeared intact. The client presented with appropriate semantic and episodic memory, as she was able to provide reasonable general information, as well as personal anecdotes. No gross impairments in attention or concentration skills were noted. However, the youth struggled with completing the serial sevens task. Importantly, Alexandra was able to recall a normal range of digits, both presented to her orally. When asked to identify similarities between objects, the youth’s responses tended to be concrete in nature. The youth demonstrated appropriate judgment when asked to provide appropriate responses to a set of social dilemmas.

As for the evidence of the working memory system, two British researches, Alan Baddley and Graham Hitch, have proposed a model in how to explain the working memory system. They have suggested that the system contains many different parts, and that the main working part of the system is the central executive. This central part is able to delegate tasks for the low-level “assistants” to handle, since these assistants are not able to actually analyze a situation on their own. The articulatory rehearsal loop is one of the assistances that allows a person to remember, and is the most beneficial in many ways. This assistant allows you to recall information that is previously stated by repetitively stating the information in our head, which is known as subvolcalization, or silent speech. Furthermore, Baddley and Hitch’s model suggest that we are able to see the existence of this working memory through “sound-alike” errors, because our bodies rely on this rehearsal loop or memory to recall information. In a study, there was a control group which was given a normal digit-span test. In the other group, people were asked to perform concurrent articulation when they took the test. Although this concurrent articulation is not difficult, it does affect the use of the articulatory loop and decreases the memory. With that being said, manipulation of a

The multiple component of the working memory presented by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) gave a reasonable conception as to how the short term memory function. Contrary to models presented by Atkinson and Shiffrin who describe the short term memory as a single unity (1968) the working memory model originally thought to be composed of three systems: the central enactive, the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and most recently, the episodic buffer. Each component has a unique function that separates it from the other component. (Baddeley & Logie, 1999), this problem has

The primary outcome in the current study was measuring the ability to correctly recall different character sets that included similar or dissimilar distractor tasks. To test this hypothesis, the number of correctly recalled character sets were analyzed by a 2 (character set: consonants vs. digits) X 2 (distractor task: word-based vs. number-based) between-subjects ANOVA. The main effect for character sets was not statistically significant, F(1, 106) = 1.16, p = .284, ηp² = .01. The main effect for distractor tasks also produced non-statistically significant results, F(1, 106) = 1.0, p = .758, ηp² = .001 . Lastly the interaction effect showed a non-statistically significant result F(1, 106) = 1.22, p = .271, ηp² = .011. Descriptive statistics for these data can be found in Table 1.

Overall, Emily’s scores indicate her cognitive functioning is low to below average when compared to her same aged peers. Emily’s verbal comprehension and processing speed were in the low average range as her same aged peers. Her verbal comprehension and processing speeds were the strongest cognitive areas for her. Emily’s Verbal Comprehension skills measured her verbal knowledge and understanding amassed by formal and informal means and reflects

1. Maria is a 12-year old female of Mexican-American descent. She currently is in the fifth grade at Eaton Elementary School. She was presented to the School Social Worker for an assessment based on teacher recommendations and other psychological testing. She appears disheveled and socially withdrawn. After fully interviewing Maria’s teachers and parents, and observing Maria at a minimum of three times, along with a record review, we will be able to determine what other assistance, if any Maria needs to be successful in school.

In summary, the combined information from the study supports previous developmental literature. Although there was no drastic difference between males and females there was a significant difference between cohorts. It can be observed that adults have a higher STM bin capacity than children. The average digit span recall for adults was 7.50 while the average digit span recall for children was 5.67. The results of this study confirm the anticipated hypothesis that adults have a higher STM capacity than children because of maturation of cognitive development and acquired skills. It is possible that adults were able to perform better because of techniques they have developed as such as rehearsal, grouping and/or recoding. These finds can possibly support Michelene T.H. Chi (1976) ideas that adults have a cognitive advantage in this area. With age, the nervous system processing becomes more refined and sufficient. Additionally, the brain is fully developed and able to focus on important information and is less susceptible to interference.

The persons must then recall the items in the correct order in which they were shown. As mentioned before, immediate serial recall has been the “holy grail” for theorizing about STM because the phonological loop in Baddeley’s working memory (short term memory) model supported recall in this task. While Baddeley made it known that verbal items have to be mentally rehearsed in order for them to be retained and properly recalled, he and other researchers took it to the next level, and began to determine if relatedness of the items could increase how much is retained and performance level of immediate serial

Ericsson, K. A., Chase, W. G., & Faloon, S. (1980). Acquisition of a Memory Skill. American

Using an APA Online Psychology Lab study, Numerical Memory. The order of task presentation is randomized for each participant. The numerical information is measured by presenting a sequence of numbers in random order for each participant. The length of the sequence starts with one digit at the first level and adds one digit after each level

Short-term memory also known as working-memory is a status in the information –processing that implies active working in current ideas and new information, it capacity is limited and varied from one individual to other. The individual’s limit is known as Working Memory Capacity (WMC) and defines the limit’s differences to perform working memory’s active operations (Reisberg, 2013). Historically memory span have been measured with a digit span task which implies that people are exposed to a series of digits and must repeat them back, then the process is recreated but with a longer list , the process continue until the person start to make errors . The number of digits the person can replicate without mistakes is considered to as the person’s digit span (Reisberg, 2013). A typical number has been assigned to working memory’s capacity and is known thanks to Miller (1956) and his research on memory’s capacity. Miller states that memory can hold 7 plus-or-minus 2 chunks (Miller, 1956) .Another method to measure working memory’s capacity is called operation span , and differs from digit span by measuring working memory capacity in a more natural setting (Reisberg,