Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Associative Learning01:27

Associative Learning

1.2K
Associative learning is a fundamental concept in behavioral psychology, wherein a connection is established between two stimuli or events, leading to a learned response. This process is critical in understanding how behaviors are acquired and modified. Conditioning, the mechanism through which associations are formed, can be divided into two main types: classical conditioning and operant conditioning, each elucidating different aspects of associative learning.
Classical conditioning, also known...
1.2K
Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

8.8K
Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
8.8K
Cognitive Theories: Lazarus Mediational Theory of Emotion01:17

Cognitive Theories: Lazarus Mediational Theory of Emotion

2.0K
Richard Lazarus' cognitive mediational theory highlights the pivotal role of cognitive appraisal in shaping emotional responses. According to this theory, the evaluation of a stimulus — based on personal values, goals, beliefs, and expectations — mediates the emotional response. This appraisal process is immediate and often occurs unconsciously, influencing the intensity and nature of the resulting emotion.
Cognitive Appraisal and Emotional Response
Lazarus proposed that...
2.0K
Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

791
Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this...
791
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

704
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
704

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Testing the predictions of a distinctiveness model of memory: The production effect in backward recall.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same author

Toward a comprehensive account of verbal memory: An embedded computational model across representational domains.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same author

Bilingualism and individual differences in short-term ordered serial recall.

Memory (Hove, England)·2026
Same author

From stork to baby: Semantic relatedness can improve order memory without grouping.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same author

Inverted list-strength effects in recognition.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2025
Same author

An embedded computational framework of memory: The critical role of representations in veridical and false recall predictions.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 14, 2026

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze
14:24

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze

Published on: July 29, 2025

1.5K

Lion-Tiger-Stripes: Delimiting the Semantic Association Effect on Working Memory With Mediated Association.

Sho Ishiguro1,2, Dominic Guitard3, Jean Saint-Aubin1

  • 1Université de Moncton, NB, Canada.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|October 18, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Semantic association improves working memory, but mediated associations show negligible effects. Direct associations significantly benefit working memory, suggesting specific mechanisms drive these improvements.

Keywords:
mediated associationsemantic maintenancesemantic relatednessworking memory

More Related Videos

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents
09:01

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

13.1K
Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

16.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 14, 2026

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze
14:24

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze

Published on: July 29, 2025

1.5K
The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents
09:01

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

13.1K
Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

16.3K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Semantic relatedness enhances working memory.
  • Spreading activation is a proposed mechanism for semantic association benefits.
  • Alternative explanations for association effects exist, such as item similarity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific role of spreading activation in semantic association's effect on working memory.
  • To differentiate the impact of direct versus mediated (two-step) associations.
  • To delimit the scope of semantic association's influence on working memory.

Main Methods:

  • Four experiments were conducted using word pairs with varying degrees of semantic association (direct and mediated).
  • Experiments 1, 2A, and 2B tested mediated associations (e.g., lion-stripes) without explicit mediators.
  • Experiments 3 and 4 tested direct associations (e.g., tiger-stripes).

Main Results:

  • Three experiments (1, 2A, 2B) provided little to no evidence for a beneficial effect of mediated associations on working memory.
  • Cross-experiment and item-level analyses further did not support the mediated association effect.
  • Two experiments (3, 4) demonstrated a significant beneficial effect of direct association on working memory performance.

Conclusions:

  • Mediated semantic associations do not appear to significantly benefit working memory.
  • Direct semantic associations strongly enhance working memory performance.
  • The findings suggest that the spreading activation model may need refinement regarding indirect associations.